JIBBSFEST round two
by jibbsloversunited
Summary: The JIBBS ficathon kicks off now.
1. Foreward

And here we are again ... with round two of the **JIBBSFEST**

We are pleased to welcome some new authors to our ranks this month.

_** grins **_

This time it was the following that needed to find their way into the story:

**ice cream**

**a power outage at NCIS**

"**margarita safari"**

**Ducky**

**the team placing a bet**

Enjoy ...


	2. For this dance that we chose

**Title**For this is the dance that we chose

**Author**: Cath1

**Summary**: Five Jen/Gibbs moments.

**Notes**: So I possibly cheated with this challenge response; instead of writing a whole story incorporating all of the elements, I created a separate ficlet based around each of the criteria. The scenes are all part of a timeline but aren't directly linked. Additionally, I've been trying out different writing styles for each part. Hopefully it works.

Titles of sections borrow lines from the following songs:

**i: Once in a while – Madeleine Peyroux**

**ii: Waiting to Die – Zero 7**

**iii: Ready for the floor – Hot Chip**

**iv: In the dark – Norah Jones**

**V: New Soul - Yael Naim**

--------------------------------------------------------------------

_**i: once in a while I'll wake up, wondering why we gave up**_

There's this dream she keeps having. Except that it's more of a memory than a dream; a strange hybrid of reality and imagination.

It develops in many different ways, but there's a constant theme based on a case they were on way back when she and Jethro were partners. She is being used as bait; a petty officer is suspected of meeting his victims – lonely, attractive women – in this bar.

She drinks leisurely at her margarita – her preferred drink for the climate and she makes the most of being able to sample different variants. It's her second of the evening – enough that she doesn't draw attention to herself – this is a bar after all and drinking is expected – but not enough to make her inebriated and inattentive.

Jethro sits in a corner of the bar, almost out of her line of sight. Regardless, she can feel his gaze on her. He will be discreet, but she enjoys the idea that he's watching her with at least some amount of longing. She chose this outfit based only partly on the requirements of the case; the skirt is slightly shorter than her usual attire, the front of her halter neck top lower than is strictly necessary. She looks appropriate – a woman out for a good time, but not slutty – but she noticed his almost imperceptible reaction when he saw her and derived much satisfaction from it.

She enjoys the opportunity to flirt with strangers, making a special effort with the suspected petty officer.

Eventually, they arrest him; an event which in the reality was a long, drawn-out process, reduced to a mere passing moment in the dream. It doesn't seem unrealistic that this incident is so easily glossed over in the dream and the hours that pass before her return to the bar erased.

And then, she's ordering another margarita, this time a blue margarita. Work done, she is less cautious about her drinking. Another – raspberry, with lime juice.

She's not inebriated at this point, but certainly enjoying herself. A handsome stranger sits himself next to her and starts chatting flirtatiously and then, a moment later, the guy is nervously excusing himself.

A hand on her shoulder explains his rapid departure. "When you're finished with your margarita safari, we should think about getting you out of those clothes and into bed," Jethro says quietly, suggestively into her ear. And she has absolutely no questions about what he's implying. And suddenly she's not giddy at all. A second later she finds herself in a bedroom with him and the dream evolves into something else entirely.

She wakes up frustrated, longing, alone. And even though it pains her to admit it even to herself, in that moment, she misses him more than she imagined was possible. And for a moment, it's all she can do not to wish herself back to that time.

And then the phone rings, or the alarm rings, or in someway she is drawn back to reality and she tries to let the moment pass.

_ii: now it's a good time for a tasty glass of wine_

Jennifer Shepard looked up from her desk, surprised by the knock on the door. It was past 21:00, or so her watch informed her, and she certainly hadn't expected any visitors.

"Come in," she called out. The door opened and her old friend entered. "Ducky! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, my dear, I have to admit that Cynthia may have imparted the knowledge that you were still chained to your desk, and since I was still in the building avoiding Mother's evening of wrestling, I thought I might pop in to give you this." He presented her with a box, wrapped impeccably.

She looked puzzled. "Thank you," she said. "This is very kind, but…" she trailed off, before it dawned on her.

Ducky raised an eyebrow. "You thought I wouldn't remember your birthday?"

"I barely remembered it myself," she responded, but it was only a half truth. She delicately started to open the package to find a box inside. She read the writing on the box with intrigue fading into delight. She opened the box to find a bottle of what she knew to be very expensive wine; one of her favourites in fact.

"Ducky… I'm… Thank you," she stuttered.

"It's a pleasure, my dear," he smiled, pleased.

"Why don't you sit down? Have you got time for a glass?" she inquired.

"Certainly, I would be delighted."

She opened the bottle with well practised ease, obtaining two glasses from her cabinet and pouring a small amount of wine in each. She handed one to Ducky and then sat down, sipping in pleasure as the flavours of the wine encompassed her.

"How did you know?" she asked, referring to the wine.

"Jethro informed me," he replied.

"Oh!" she responded, surprised.

"It was back in 2000, or was it 2001? Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter. We were attending to a case in Maryland – a lieutenant had been murdered with a most intriguing instrument. He'd been sliced open with a sharp object which we couldn't initially identify because the patterns didn't match anything we had on file…"

"Ducky?" she gently nudged him back on topic.

"Yes," he smiled. "Sorry, my dear. The murder had taken place in the lieutenant's wine cellar as he had been selecting a bottle for a meal he was having later that evening with his girlfriend. It had, we believe, been his intention to propose to her that evening, and so he had selected a particularly fine wine. Of course, as the murder had taken place the bottle had dropped and smashed into many pieces, rendering the scene quite precarious. Jethro had identified the bottle almost immediately from the label and after some coaxing I managed to discern that it was one of your favourites. And for some reason, I happened to remember when I was thinking about an appropriate gift for you."

There was some silence as Jen spent a moment considering this information. She wondered briefly if Jethro had actually remembered that it was her birthday, she'd barely seen him all day, before shaking off the thought and bringing her attention back to Ducky.

"It was a lovely present, Ducky, I'm very grateful," she said as she drained the final remnants of the glass.

"He did remember, you know. He thinks about you almost as much as…" he stopped and smiled, deciding it better not to continue. She raised an eyebrow at him in warning and wondered when she had become that transparent. "Well, my dear, I do hope you're not planning on spending the rest of your birthday alone? You are, of course, more than welcome to spend the evening with Mother and I, watching wrestling."

"It's a very kind offer, but I've got some paperwork that needs to be signed off before tomorrow morning," she smiled.

"Well, yes, I think at this point even I would prefer paperwork to an evening with Mother. However, I'm not afforded that luxury," he noted, amused. "Happy birthday, my dear," he wished before he exited.

She sighed and returned to her desk, looking unhappily at the mountain of files stacked on her desk. It was unfortunately the case that she did have to finish them this evening.

She took the top file off the pile and as she did so, she noticed an object that had been hidden between. A small wrapped item; a present. She wondered how it had escaped her attention earlier.

She turned the gift over, trying to get a clue as to where it had come from, but there were no names or distinguishing marks. She carefully opened it to find a delicate and understated broach. It was lovely.

Still puzzled, she realised that it must have been placed between the files when they had been given to her. She looked at the files either side, sat back and smiled. Jethro had submitted much more than completed reports this afternoon.

_iii: I'm hoping with chance, you might take this dance_

You can think of about a thousand things you'd rather be doing at this moment in time. Pulling your fingernails out with pliers, for example. Or sitting in a room with all three of your ex-wives. Okay, so that idea is possibly equally as torturous. But really, a compulsory formal awards evening complete with dinner and dancing for all of NCIS on the East Coast doesn't even begin to rank itself on your list of interesting or productive things to do.

Unfortunately, you are only too aware that on occasion, mandatory attendance means mandatory. And Jen was adamant that this was one of those occasions.

You particularly dislike that you have to wear a tuxedo. There's no real reason for this rankling; maybe it's that if you were doing what you wanted to, you'd be wearing a comfortable pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and sipping at beer.

The only vague enjoyment you are currently attaining from the event is that your team seem equally as uncomfortable being enforced to attend as you feel.

McGee, you notice with some amusement, regularly checks his cell phone – on the off-chance that there is a case, you realise.

Ziva and Tony bicker like children, and you note that it lacks some of the more light-hearted and sexual overtones.

Abby and Ducky are discussing… well, God only knows what they're discussing.

You rub your temples, feeling a headache coming on.

The team's lack of enjoyment at the events lead to them placing bets on who will receive an award. You half listen slightly amused at their interpretations of the award names and potential recipients. But at the same time you discreetly watch Jen as she sits at the top table and prepares for her part in the proceedings. You find yourself doing this increasingly frequently of late – and not only watching; she seems to insert herself into your thoughts as well.

She's wearing a dark green dress that you find particularly alluring. She laughs at a joke and then her eyes somehow find their way to yours and you refuse to look away. However, someone comes to speak to her and she has to move.

You tune back into the conversation at your table.

"Best ass-kisser?" Tony calls.

"McGee," Ziva and Tony reply concurrently, with amused looks at each other.

"Most likely not to win any award?" McGee asks.

"That would be you, Tony," Ziva grins.

"What about an award for Ziva?" McGee asks.

"Hmm… most likely to kill you with office supplies?" Tony offers.

And then the awards begin in earnest and chatter from your table dies down to a minimum, with the exception of occasional comments on winners. You tune out the sound of the awards, uninterested. You continue to look in the direction of Jen as much to pretend that you are paying attention as anything else, and if she hadn't looked at you as she gave out the final award, you would have entirely missed her calling out your name.

"…we are entirely indebted to Agent Gibbs not only for this but also for his unfailing dedication to his work and the agency."

"Gibbs wins! Pay up McGee," Abby exclaims. You are less impressed, and it is with great reluctance that you make your way to the stage.

"Congratulations, Agent Gibbs," Jen says as she hands you the award and shakes your hand. Without intention, you breathe in the scent of her perfume.

You say a brief thank you, which admittedly consists of two words; a number decidedly less than most of the other recipients.

And then you make your way back to your table, wondering if this godforsaken ceremony is to finish anytime soon.

It appears not. There is still to be dancing.

It is a while before you notice Jen start to approach your table. The others have made their way – some reluctantly, some not so – to the dance floor and are currently moving – dancing may be too charitable a word – to some god awful noise.

"Congratulations again, Jethro," she says. And you wonder if this was her sole purpose in walking over to your table.

"Thanks Jen. I am, as ever, thrilled," you respond in a tone of voice that suggests that you are anything but.

She gives an amused half smile and sits down next to you. You both watch the dancing in silence for a while. The music changes to a song that you finally recognise, but it is not entirely with delight. It is particularly inconvenient that Jen would be sitting next to you as the song starts and you wonder if she remembers it too. You have no intention of asking her or looking over to her to see her reaction.

She stands up, says nothing for a second while looking at you. And then, "would you dance with me?" she asks, formally, as though this is some sort of business agreement.

"I don't dance," you reply.

And you would have left it there, only you see a momentary change in her expression that you know is a combination of disappointment and something else that you can't quite name. But she quickly schools her features into one of impassive neutrality, commenting under her breath, "you used to," before she starts to walk away.

But Jen is one of your few weaknesses and before you realise it, you've called out her name. You don't say anything, but you stand up and make your way to the dance floor. It is with more than a little amusement that you notice Tony's astounded expression. But it is Jen's brief expression that almost floors you; gratitude, amazement, affection, a look of happy reminiscence of another time, and… love? The last one is less certain, but you start to believe that she might feel as much for you as you do for her.

You dance a respectable distance apart – there is no other option at such an event – but you remember a time when you danced to this song and respectable and distance were not two words that you would consider using.

The dance ends soon, and – reluctantly? – you part and make your way from the dance floor.

As you sit down you notice that Jen has followed you. She kisses you briefly on the cheek. "Thank you," she says, before she walks off leaving you to just watch her.

_iv: in the dark, I get such a thrill when he presses his fingertips upon my lips and he begs me to please keep still_

The thunder has been almost constant for the past hour; deep, grumbling echoes that more recently have increased exponentially in their ferocity so that the whole building seems to tremble under its influence. Lightning strikes at random intervals – blinding in the dark, rain-soaked night. The rain is near torrential, leading to many agents electing to work late rather than risk driving in such conditions.

He finds it interesting that this is when Jen chooses to exit her office in full evening attire. A black, fairly informal dress, heels higher than she'd wear for the office, a scarf in black and with silver trimming wrapped around her shoulders, hair and makeup impeccable.

He wonders who it is that she is planning to meet on this horrendous evening.

He makes an attempt to convince himself that he doesn't care, but for some reason finds himself diving into the elevator as the doors close behind her.

"Jethro," she says, surprised. "Did you need to speak to me?"

"Only about your involving the FBI in my case," he replies. He finds it interesting that he's elected this for the confrontational approach.

She raises her eyebrows. "Well, Agent Gibbs, since they were involved already, I thought that they might be able to assist with our investigation. And since they provided us with some information, it seems that I was correct."

"Bullshit, Director," he responds, angrily.

She turns to him, fire in her eyes, "Agent Gibbs, you will not…" she starts, but she is cut short when the elevator whirrs to a stop, the lights cutting to darkness. "Jethro?" she asks, and the anger is not entirely out of her voice, but it is muted and laced with question.

"I swear that was not me. I have to actually hit the button, Jen." He hits the switch a couple of times to make his point, but to no avail.

"The power to the building must have cut out," she surmises.

"So why hasn't the backup generator kicked in?" he wonders out loud.

They both stand there in silence for a moment, waiting to see if anything happens. It doesn't. "We cannot be stuck here," she exclaims.

"Why, Jen? Afraid you won't be able to control yourself around me?" he asks, with amusement.

He can see the combination of amused frustration on her features, hears her as she mutters about not controlling her urge to kill him.

"Your date won't be waiting too long, I hope, what with the weather and everything," he comments with false neutrality. He doesn't know why he is trying to goad her into a fight. Her reaction informs him that she knows him well enough that she realises it too and hasn't the intention of indulging him at this moment.

She laughs, and there is only a trace of anger in it. "I hope not, too." They don't say anything for a few minutes. "Seems like we're going to be stuck here a while, Jethro," she comments idly, like she were commenting on the weather.

"I'm just saying, Jen," he starts again, fuelled by her lack of response, "you shouldn't get involved in my cases. At least not without consulting me."

He is strangely satisfied to see her ire build again.

"For God's sake, Jethro, we've been through this before and I think by now, we've established that this is my agency to run, not yours and I can damn well get involved in any case I want to, regardless of whether they are yours or not. And I think we've also established that it is my responsibility to work with other agencies whether or not Leroy Jethro Gibbs has decided that he should remain responsible for all and any cases that he is working. And I also think it is damn well none of his damn business if I am going on a date or not, regardless of the meteorological conditions," she says fiercely, taking a breath, and she starts to continue but he places his fingers on her lips to stop her, no longer interested in the game and knowing that anything he tries to say now will only fuel her anger.

She breathes heavily, deeply, struggling to control her anger. He doesn't remove his fingers, and can feel her every movement. He revels in the feeling.

"Truce," he says quieter, calmer now. It's as close to an apology as she is likely to get.

He can see that she has also calmed down. He starts to move his fingers away from her mouth, but her hand quickly comes up and she places it on top of hers, sighing a quick "don't." She closes her eyes with the sensation and he watches her. And then, a second later, in one swift movement, she opens her eyes and moves his hand from her lips.

"I'm sorr…" she starts, but then halts; a quick laugh, and she seems to collect herself. And then, her professional persona is firmly back in place. He notes this with disappointment.

But before either of them can make any further comment, the lights are back on, and the elevator whirrs into action.

The doors open at the lobby and they are greeted by an apologetic maintenance supervisor who explains hurriedly why the backup generator didn't start up immediately and comments that a report will be on her desk by the morning. She briefly thanks the maintenance supervisor and then she exits the lobby.

Jethro moves far enough along the corridor so that he can see who her date is.

He recognises the person from years ago; not a date, but an old – female – college friend. Jen embraces the woman warmly, and then, with a brief look back at him with an amused and vaguely mischievous look on her face, she walks away chatting animatedly.

And he laughs.

_v: this is a happy end come and give me your hand I'll take you far away_

It's dark in MTAC apart from the light from the scene that unfolds on screen. I can barely see anyone's expression but since things aren't going exactly smoothly, that's not such a bad thing.

I sit in my seat, slightly tense and nervous, but somehow I manage not to convey that to the team. The operation is coming to an end, and, god, the last thing we need is for it to all go wrong now.

It's fifteen minutes later before the operation concludes and thankfully it's a positive result all round. I quickly thank all the teams involved and then sit back in my seat and relax, letting out a quiet sigh.

"Tough case?" Jethro asks from the seat beside me and I barely manage not to jump.

"Agent Gibbs," I comment unnecessarily. "Just reports to write now," I respond. "You know, sometimes I could do without this part of the job."

"The part where it all works out well?" he asks, amused.

I roll my eyes. "The part before that where I get to watch on screen as my agents may or may not make it out alive. God I could use a drink," I say, reaching to my right side where I am almost certain Jethro will have a cup of coffee stowed. The thing I find there is definitely not coffee, unless Jethro has decided to go with the iced variety. "Ice cream?" I ask, looking at the small carton.

"Yeah," he replies with a grin.

Obviously, he has decided not to elaborate. "Not that I don't appreciate it Jethro, but care to explain?"

"Earlier, you said you'd kill for ice cream. I decided to prevent any unnecessary deaths." It's unlikely anyone else would hear it, but he's proud of himself. And damn right he should be – I really would kill for ice cream today. And, my god, it's Ben and Jerry's chocolate brownie flavour.

I find his hand on the armrest, and place mine briefly on top of it. "Thank you," I say.

And then he surprises me. He turns his hand over and links his fingers with mine. Interesting development. And, quite frankly, far better than the ice cream.

This thumb runs softly over my fingers and renders me speechless. The worrying thing is that this is just contact with my fingers. I try hard not to think too much about the same hand on other places on my body. I briefly sigh, savouring the feeling, before remembering where I am. I look to my right as I do and I can see Jethro watching my reaction with amusement.

"Something to say, Agent Gibbs?" I enquire, reminding myself as much as him that we are still at work.

He leans in close and I briefly look around the room, ensuring that no one is watching us. They aren't.

"It's late, Jen," he says quietly, and I look at him, wondering what he is trying to imply. "There's an Italian restaurant I know that does great food, and has a nice private table in the back."

I raise my eyebrow in response and am torn between smiling widely at the possibility that he's finally decided to ask me out and rolling my eyes at his lack of actual request. I opt to go with neither.

"Are you asking me on a date, Jethro?" I ask quietly and with some amusement. And, I have to admit, somewhat hopefully.

He looks away with a laugh that I know to mean that my interpretation is correct.

He stands up. "You coming?" he queries.

Hell, yeah, I think. His hand is still linked with mine and neither of us let go as he starts to walk away. Unfortunately, because we're still in view of others I have to let go as we exit the seating area. But I follow him out, and somehow manage to fight the urge to grin widely at the realisation that we're finally taking this relationship to the next level.

It's only much later in the evening, when I'm lying in Jethro's embrace and I'm unable to sleep, that I remember the carton of ice cream left in MTAC.


	3. Addition to the family

**Title: **Addition to the Family

**Author:** NickyK

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters; make no profit from any of this.

**Summary:** Jen and Gibbs have some news to share.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had long since disappeared by the time Director Shepard emerged from her office. She was tired. More so than usual, but knew she had no one to blame but herself. She should have been gone hours ago but the prospect of going home to an empty house didn't appeal to her. Still, she'd only planned on staying another hour or two, however, that had turned into three and now here it was well after seven in the evening and she was still at it.

Jethro would not be happy with her.

She stood on the landing outside her office, looking down into the bullpen. It was deserted save for a few agents mingling around, doing last minute follow-ups. She heard laughter and was surprised to see Abby and Ducky standing next to Gibb's team. She hadn't realized they were back from the field and was disappointed that Gibbs hadn't bothered to check up on her.

She quickly pushed aside the emotion, chalking it up to hormones as she made her way down the steps and over to his team. She was half-way down when suddenly the building went dark. She froze, straining her eyes, trying to see through the blackness, knowing it was fruitless. She could hear the agents calling out to each other and knew instinctively that each one had their weapons drawn and the senses on alert, ready for whatever threat came their way.

The back-up generators kicked in and she breathed a sigh of relief as the dim lighting filled the room. She continued on her journey over to the agents, calling out to them to let them know she was there. Just as she had expected, each one had their hands on their weapons, tense and ready for action, with Abby and Ducky safely covered.

Ziva greeted her first.

"Director, I didn't realize you were still here."

"Do we know what happened?" she asked crisply, just as her cell phone rang. She reached it for and listened, letting her own tension ease a bit as she listened to one of the guards from the outside security center.

"Thank you for the update," she said politely and ended the call.

"That was the security center. You can stand down. It's a blackout; powers down in the entire area do to some kind of electrical surge. The electric company is on it and has confirmed no fowl play. Security will remain at high alert until power has been restored."

"Which will be how long?" asked McGee.

"They are predicting no more than 45 minutes, an hour at the most."

She could see Ducky and Abby visibly relax but DiNozzo, David and McGee only gave the appearance of doing so. Gibbs had taught them well, she thought proudly.

Ducky frowned, eyeing her keenly.

"My dear, Director, what are you still doing here? You should be home resting."

She smiled gently at Ducky. "I didn't realize I had a curfew."

He lifted a brow.

"Jethro might disagree with you on that."

Jenny blushed at the innocent comment, grateful for the dim lighting. Ziva and Tony stared at her curiously.

"Why would Gibbs…"

"Where is Agent Gibbs, by the way?" she asked cutting Tony off before he could ask the question.

"He has been absent for quite a while. Perhaps he decided to take another margarita safari, hmmm," said Ducky, his eyes full of mischief. Jenny grinned.

"I heard that."

Ducky turned towards Gibbs as he came out of the stairwell.

"Sorry Jethro, I couldn't resist." He said looking anything but sorry.

"What's a margarita safari?" questioned Abby.

"Never mind," replied Gibbs, as his eyes found Jenny's. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine," she said seeing the concern in his eyes. "Where were you?"

"I was dropping off the samples in the lab when the lights went out. I called the security center to find out what was going on when they informed me that they'd already spoken to you." He moved closer to her, his expression stern. "Breaking your promises already, Director?" he whispered in her ear.

"I was waiting for you," she told him softly, aware of the ears straining toward them.

She could see the irritation in his eyes even in the dim lighting. "I could have been out all night. Waiting for me is not part of the deal. What part of "reduced work hours" did you not understand?"

Jen stiffened at his tone and was ready to come back with a sharp retort, when she heard Ducky speak from behind her.

"Director, you should remember that a woman in your condition needs to avoid stress as much as possible. Well, as much as a Director of a Federal Agency can, at least," he amended, unaware of the deafening silence that had befallen the group.

Abby was the first to break it.

"What do you mean a woman in her condition, Ducky?"

"Yes, Jen, what exactly does that mean?" questioned Ziva, knowingly.

Jen dropped her head to Gibbs chest and groaned. Gibbs stared at Ducky as if he could throttle him. Tony had the "I knew it" grin on his face and McGee just looked confused.

Ducky looked around the group in dawning horror. "Oh dear. Did I let the proverbial cat out of the bag?"

"You think, Duck," Gibbs snapped.

Ducky looked at the pair. "Forgive me Director; I didn't realize they hadn't been informed."

"Informed about what?" asked McGee.

Jen raised her eyes to Gibbs, seeking the encouragement she needed to turn and face the group. He gave a slight nod and she took a deep breath. She turned and Gibbs wrapped his arms around her. Normally, she wouldn't allow this kind of affectionate display while at work. But they were the only ones left in this section of the building and she needed the contact. She leaned into him and looked each person in the eye.

"What Ducky is referring too is that in about six more months there will be an addition to the family."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Abby erupted with a gleeful yelp.

"Oh my goodness…you're pregnant! That's so great," squealed Abby as she came up and threw her arms around Jenny and Gibbs.

"I knew it," Ziva exclaimed, putting out her hands to collect money from Tony and McGee.

"Ziva! You guys placed bets on whether or not I was pregnant?" Jenny asked in feign outrage. "How did you even know? Ducky?"

Ducky shook his head in the negative. "Not I."

Ziva shrugged. "Tony started it. I just took it one step further. You're glowing. I put two and two together."

"So who's the father?" Tony asked. Jenny glared at him, Abby and Ziva both gave him a slight shove, Ducky chuckled quietly and McGee rolled his eyes.

"DiNozzo!"

"Oh right Boss. You are, of course. I knew that." At Gibbs hard look he gulped. "Shutting up now Boss."

"How come I wasn't included in the bet?" Abby pouted.

"We'll let you in on the next one," said McGee.

"What next one?" asked Jenny.

McGee shrugged. "I don't know but I'm sure Tony will think of something."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs warned.

"No more bets about you and the Director. Got it, Boss."

Jenny shook her head. "You guys obviously need more work to do."

Good humored protests came from round the group and Jenny smiled. She felt Gibbs tug on her sleeve and turned to him. He led her to a quieter section of the room. "This alright with you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I know you'll keep them in line."

Gibbs grunted and she laughed softly.

"You worry me, Jen," he said quietly and she knew this was as close to an apology for his earlier comment that she was going to get.

"Jethro, I'm fine."

"But the doctor said…"

"I know what the doctor said and I do intend to follow her instructions. To a point," she added quickly. "I know my body. I'm tired, yes, but that part is normal. I haven't been doing anything strenuous. I read reports; answered some emails, nothing stressful Jethro. I promise."

"Can I trust you to keep your promises, Jen?" he asked earnestly.

She sighed. She'd known that having Gibbs attend her appointments was a bad idea. The ob/gyn had scared him with talk of miscarriage and high risk pregnancies for women over the age of 40. And Jenny had to admit, she was a little nervous herself. But she couldn't live in fear for the next six months. Although she loved how protective he was of her, there had to be limits.

"How about we amend my promise?" At his questioning look she continued.

"There's no way I can promise you that I will be out of here by five everyday, but I promise I will try. I know how important this child is to you Jethro and I'm not going to do anything to purposely put our child's life at risk. That, I can promise you."

He caressed the side of her face with his forefinger, staring intently into her eyes.

"You're important to me too, Jen. You know that don't you?"

"Yes, I do," she smiled gently at him before leaning forward to touch his lips with her own. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. Jenny moaned in his mouth as she felt her body respond to his touch. One good thing about these hormones, she thought as she gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer, was that it didn't take much foreplay to get her ready for him.

A throat cleared behind them and they jerked apart, breathing heavily. Jen blushed as she realized the lights had come back on and they hadn't even noticed.

Gibbs guided her back to the group and gave Tony a warning look as he opened his mouth. "Not one word, DiNozzo."

Tony's mouth closed with a snap.

Ducky chuckled. "Well, now I must be off. Mother will be wondering where I'm gotten off too. Director, again, I apologize for my earlier blunder."

"Don't worry about it Ducky. We were planning on telling everyone soon anyway. But," she said pulling away from Gibbs, "we would ask that you keep it to yourselves for the time being. I will be calling a meeting in a few weeks to break the news to everyone else and I'd rather they hear it from me to dispel any rumors that this news will cause."

In that instant, they were all reminded of her position and what this could possibly do to her career.

Abby, ever the sensitive one voiced her thoughts. "Director is this going to be bad for you?"

It was Gibbs who answered. "No it won't," he said firmly, 'we won't let it."

Jenny had been worried since the beginning of their relationship that it could have a negative effect on both of their careers. She and Gibbs had discussed it and decided it was a risk they were both willing to take. Though they didn't hide their relationship, they didn't make a point to broadcast it either. Hearing Gibbs speak those words just now, knowing that they would face whatever happened together, made her believe it all the more. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away rapidly. Damn hormones.

Gibbs noticed and decided it was time to get her home.

"Alright, it's late enough. Why don't you guys take off? We'll see you in the morning."

After another round of congratulations and good night, every one grabbed their things and headed out.

"You know, Director, I think pregnant women are very attractive," said Tony as he, Gibbs and Jenny headed toward the elevator.

"Where you going with this, Tony?" asked Gibbs as they elevator doors opened.

He turned and faced the younger man, his expression serious. "Are you hitting on my woman, DiNozzo?"

Tony's eyes widened in bewilderment. "Uh…no…uh Boss. I was just…uh…giving her a…uh…compliment…uh Boss."

"Uh-huh," muttered Gibbs and he faced forward.

Jenny leaned against the elevator wall, trying to hide her amusement at watching Tony fumble his way out of that one, though she was secretly pleased at being referred to as 'Gibbs' woman'.

Tony, on the other hand was flushed with embarrassment and Jenny's heart went out to him. As they exited the elevator in the garage, she maneuvered her way next to him.

"Thank you, Tony, for the compliment. I'll need them for when I'm as big and as round as a house in a few months."

"You'll still be beautiful as ever, Director," Tony smiled and waved as he veered away from them and headed toward his vehicle.

Gibbs wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her to his car. "He's right, ya know, you'll still be beautiful," he whispered in her ear.

She laid her head down against his shoulder and laughed lightly. "Yeah, well, talk to me about that when I'm all swollen and irritable at nine months pregnant."

He kissed her head but said nothing.

They'd reached the car and he held the door, waiting for her to get in. She paused.

"Can we please stop by the store on the way home? I really, really need some ice cream. Chocolate ice cream. And pickles. Yum, doesn't that sound delicious?" she said climbing into the car, not waiting for his response.

Gibbs shut her door, chuckling to himself.

"And so it begins…"


	4. Darkness

**Title:** Darkness

**Author:** MrsScott323

---------------------------------------------

"Come on. This has to be your strangest case yet."

" Not even close."

"Please. A marine who worked in a ice cream parlor got locked in his own freezer, buried underneath about a hundered Magnums, and froze to death? And you're telling me you've had a stranger case?"

"Well, yeah Zee-va. One of my first cases in Baltimore involved someone being cooked. And parts of him were eaten." Tony paused for a second. "After being chopped up of course."

Ziva turned her head to face him, with a very disbelieving look in her eyes.

" Of course."

"Hey, do you think we'll get free ice cream after we've solved this case?"

The sharp pain of a head slap stopped him mid sentence and wiped the smile of his face.

" Shutting up now Boss."

" Finish up those pictures and send the evidence over to Abby's lab."

Quickly the two did what they were told and resumed their work. There was a tiny smile on Gibbs' face, just enough to lift the corners of his mouth. After all those years. Tony still hadn't changed. Oddly, it was a kind of comforting thought.

-------------------------------------------

The team worked around the clock on the case, by Director's orders. Apparently, there was someone high up pulling the strings to get this case solved quickly. But there were still some difficulties. Ducky was on a cruise with his mother, so it was Palmer who led the autopsy. He was very nervous about it, even though he had assisted on the procedure dozens, maybe even hundreds of times. Finally, two hours longer than it usually took, he had finished exhuming the body and had given his report to Gibbs and sent a few samples to Abby's lab.

Gibbs also made his way to Abby's lab, to give her a new Caff-Pow and to get her report too. But when he returned to the squad room, just after he exited the elevator, all the lights went out, and every computer screen turned black. Everyone in the room looked up in surprise. It was getting late and the sun had almost descended beneath the horizon. Only the reddish glow of the sun lit up the room.

Quickly the lights switched back on and the computers started themselves up again. McGee screened everyone's computers, just to be sure nothing related to the case, or anything else important had gotten lost, or even worse, deleted. Fortunately everything was still there.

Then, the lights went out again, this time they didn't turn back on and Gibbs made his way to Jen's office, not even stopping by Cynthia who was talking on the phone.

"Generator's down, Jen."

" Really Jethro, I hadn't noticed," she replied him sarcastically, but on her lips was the faint trace of a smile. Seeing him in this kind of lighting, even if it was close to darkness brought back memories.

One particular one in fact.

The smile on her face increased and there was a twinkle in her eye. She wasn't sure if she should meet his gaze, afraid he would recognize what she was thinking about .

"Well, at least this time we can be sure Ducky had nothing to do with it."

She looked up in surprise. She couldn't believe he still remembered it. She thought she was the only one who still remembered all those things about their time together. Or did he read her mind, just like he used to?

She might have been almost fluent in 'Gibbs-talk' but Jethro could really read her like an open book. In a way on one else ever had been able to.

" That's right, he's on that trip with his mother. A cruise wasn't it?"

"So when he's on a trip you call it a cruise, but when I leave on vacation it immediately turns into a 'margarita safari'?"

Jen rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe that still bothered him. Sometimes he remembered a bit too much.

"Sorry, my creative streak has left me for a moment. I can't come up with something fitting."

They were both quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Thoughts about the past, their past, and last but not least their future. Was it still there?

It had been quiet for too long, so Jenny broke their silence.

" Did you come here just to tell me the generator's down?"

"Well, my team can't work like this. How long till there's someone to fix this?"

"He'll be here in ten minutes. Why don't you send your team home, or back to the crime scene, maybe there's something you've missed."

Gibbs gave her a meaningful look but chose not to reply. He was almost out the door when he heard her voice again.

"You know, we never did prove it was Ducky who did it."

He closed the door again, thinking back to the last time all the power had went out.

They had been in the elevator back then. Just the two of them. Then the power had gone out. They had gotten into a fight, again. But this time after their screaming match, the left over energy had turned into something more. Something teenagers would definitely define as a 'hot and heavy make-out session'. The only reason it had been broken off back then was because the lights turned back on. It had been the beginning of their relationship. It might have been a strange and unusual way to start it, but that was just was it was.

"I never did thank him for that."

Again, she looked up in surprise, did he just say that? Did those words really leave his mouth? This was so unlike him, he never was one to share anything he thought about. But then again, most of the time she already knew what he was thinking about, so they never needed it.

She caught his gaze, in his eyes there was doubt, she knew she should probably say something.

This was it.

Say something.

Anything.

Too late, he turned around again. Even in his walk she could see the disappointment. He walked out the door. Leaving her alone in her office.

God, she could've slapped herself at that moment. This was everything she had been waiting for and she just let it slip right through her fingers.

Quickly, she ran out of her office, as fast as she could in her heels. She caught the elevator just as the doors were closing. She put her hand between them and it opened again.

This time it was him that looked up in surprise. She smiled and stepped inside.

"Actually, I thanked him for the both of us."

The doors closed in front of them and as soon as the elevator began to move they reached for the emergency stop button together. With his hand covering hers, they pushed the button and with his other hand he pulled her close.

Finally, after 8 years, 4 months and 12 days.

Not that he'd been counting.

But finally she was in his arms again. Right where she belonged. He smiled at her, but then she decided the moment had been postponed long enough. They had waited long enough.

And she attacked his lips with hers in a passionate, sensual and very long kiss.

--------------------------------

Down in the squad room, the mechanic looked at the elevator in confusion. He had fixed everything, hadn't he? But why was the elevator not showing up? He had pushed that button about ten times already.

"Danny? Danny Taylor?"

The mechanic turned around, that voice sounded very familiar.

"Timmy McGee? Is that you?"

"It sure is."

" How've you been? I haven't seen you in ages!"

"I think one of the last times was at Sally Wells' graduation party."

" Hold it, McGee here at a graduation party?"

"Of course he was! Well after I made him."

McGee looked down in embarrassment. Ziva smirked.

"Tell me, Danny was it? When did Tim here get his first girlfriend, he never did want to tell us."

McGee was getting redder and redder, but Danny answered the question without hesitation.

"He was 15," Beside him, he saw that McGee was turning redder every minute. "Come on, she wasn't that bad."

"Ha! Pay up Tony, you owe me $20."

Grumbling Tony pulled out his wallet and payed Ziva. McGee's head shot up and he switched his gaze between the two of them.

"Don't tell me you guys bet on the first time I had a girlfriend."

The other two just looked at each other, with a stupid grin on their faces.

"Actually, that wasn't all we bet on. Tell me Danny.." But before Tony could finish his sentence, The elevator doors opened and Gibbs and Jenny got off quickly. Looking a little dishevelled , and Jenny's face was a bit flushed.

All four of them watched as the two walked off.

"Do you think they.." Tony wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, the Director would never do that."

McGee still had his mouth opened until Ziva shut it for him.

"Ehm guys, was that a bitemark on Gibbs' neck?"


	5. Frisky

**Title:** Frisky

**Author:** VerityFrancesB

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Holland and…Mr Palmer?"

Ducky glanced around Autopsy. The Autopsy Gremlin was nowhere to be seen. "I don't know how he does it" he told the current cadaver lying on his table. "I swear his lives a double life. He just disappears. Reminds me of the time…"

His monologue was cut short as the lights in Autopsy suddenly cut out. Left in darkness for a few seconds, Ducky stood motionless as the backup generators kicked in. He wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Must be something really wrong" he mused. "The back up generators are not working to full potential." Autopsy was bathed in a dim light. "Excuse me, my dear boy," he spoke once more to the body. "I have to go and find out what going on. Maybe Jethro will know."

Tony was sitting at his desk eating ice cream out of a small tub.

"Hmmm this is so good, its like sex in a tub, Zee-vah, you want some?" He offered her his spoon and she wrinkled her nose.

"No thank you." She sounded disgusted at the very idea of sharing anything with Tony. She was currently preoccupied with staring at the catwalk.

"What you looking at?" Tony enquired, craning his neck to try and see. He gave up trying and stood up, walking round to stand behind her.

"Gibbs went to see the Director 15 minutes ago and no one has yet stormed out. I was wondering what was going on in there." She answered, glancing briefly at him.

"You reckon he killed her and is trying to figure out how to hide the body?" He asked.

She slapped him round the head.

"Ow…what was that for?"

"Firstly, if anyone was killing anyone up there it would be the Director killing Gibbs, secondly, IF Gibbs had killed Jenny he wouldn't be trying to hide the body…he would get Abby to do it." She answered. "You have ice cream on your tie."

"Good point well made Officer David." Tony conceded, rubbing his tie with a tissue. "About the killing not the ice cream. So what do you reckon is going on up there?"

They were all silenced as the lights in the bullpen flickered and went out. They all looked round, confused.

"Oooh, power failure." Tony said, "Everyone gets a little frisky during power failures."

Ziva turned her head to look at him over her shoulder.

"Frisky?" She asked.

"Yes, Zee-Vah, frisky. The lights are off, and judging by the fact that the back up power is not running at 100, it looks like they are probably not going to come back on for a while, it makes me feel frisky." He crossed his arms in front of him.

"Tony, _everything_ makes you feel frisky." Ziva smirked.

"She has got a point Anthony." They both turned to see Ducky standing behind them.

"Ducky, did you learn how to sneak up on people from Ziva?" Tony placed his hand on his chest.

"I am sorry my dear boy, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just performing an autopsy when the lights went out and I was wondering if anyone knew what was going on. Where is Jethro?" he asked. Tony and Ziva both pointed up towards Jen's office.

"Ah…What is he doing up there?"

"We don't know Ducky but he has been up there for…" Tony looked at his watch, "…20 minutes now and no one has stormed out yet."

"Tony said that a power failure makes people frisky." Ziva offered as an explanation at to what may be happening in the Directors office; she looked at Ducky with an exasperated expression, begging for sympathy for having to have such conversations.

"That it does my dear girl," Ducky agreed and Ziva gazed at him in shock, "Reminds me of the time…"

_**20 Minutes Earlier**_

"Now is not a good time Jethro." Jenny sighed as she took her glasses off and looked at Gibbs, who was standing in front of her desk with his hands on his hips.

"It's never a good time is it Jen?" He asked, a slight smile gracing his face.

"Not for one your diatribes Jethro, no." She answered, mirroring his expression. "What do you want?" She asked.

"I thought you didn't have time?" He questioned.

"Touché Jethro, but I have decided to be generous." She graciously smiled at him and his hands unconsciously clenched by his sides, longing to wipe the smile of her face by throwing her over her desk, now that would be interesting. "What are you smiling at?" She asked, head cocked to one side.

"Nothing." He answered rather too quickly.

She raised her eyebrows at him as if to say that she didn't believe that he was thinking nothing and he sighed.

"Fine…if you really want to know, I was thinking how great it would be to throw you across this desk and wipe that smile from your face." Much to her disgust, she felt herself blushing. He smirked at her.

"Jethro, that isn't fair."

"Who said life is fair Director?" He said, still smirking at her. He took a step towards her and she automatically took one towards him. His hands framed her face and he looked deep into her eyes. His leaned down and his lips brushed against hers.

"You had time for me this morning Jen, remember?" He asked.

"If I remember rightly Jethro, I didn't have time which is why you had to beg and I was late for work." She replied, pushing his hands away and placing hers on her hips.

"I never beg Jen." Gibbs sounded affronted, "How dare you tell such a blatant lie."

She laughed and gently kissed him.

"Of course Jethro, you never beg." She stood on tip toes and kissed him just below his earlobe and she heard his sharp intake of breath. He pulled her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Thank god Cynthia is out." He managed to say between kisses. Jen stopped for a second a looked at him. "So I can do this." He answered her unasked question by sweeping his arm across her desk and placing her on it. She looked at her papers on the floor and opened her mouth to protest and demand that he clean it up when his mouth came swooping down to cover hers.

All of her protests were lost as Gibbs pushed her so she was lying down and his warm weight covered her body.

"How on earth did you manage without me?" He asked, his hands deftly sliding up her legs and under her skirt.

"When you were away on your margarita safari?" She replied as she pulled his shirt from his pants and gently dragged her nails up his back. He groaned.

"I wish people would stop calling it that." He whined.

"Did you lock the door when you stormed in?" She said between gasps of breath. His answer was a vague mumble which reverberated through her chest. She opened her eyes. "When did you turn the lights out?" She asked. His head lifted from her neck and he looked around.

"I didn't," He said, "Must be a power failure. Remember the one in Paris ?"

She smiled at him as she remembered being in a hotel room, the power going out for 4 hours, sitting in the room surrounded by candles, making love on the hotel room floor, not being interrupted by phone calls from the Director telling them their next move.

"You did always like power failures." She smiled and pulled him back down to her, "Did you organise this one?" She asked.

"Nope, it must be a happy coincidence." He replied, smiling as she gasped as he slid his fingers into her.

"I thought…you didn't believe…in coincidences?"

"Call it a twist of fate then…" He trailed off as her hands skilfully entered his pants and all rational thought left his mind.

-----------------------------------------

"How much do you want to bet that they are having naughty office sex up there?" Tony rubbed his hands together in glee at the thought of their two bosses behaving like college students.

"I'm willing to take that bet Mr DiNozzo" Ziva whipped around on the spot

to look at him.

"It's 'Special Agent' DiNozzo to you actually, Officer David." Tony said, straightening his tie. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"You still have ice cream on you tie, you know?" She smirked.

"I would like to state for the record that I am wholly against this…but…I will take that bet too Anthony." Ducky added.

"None of you will be living long enough to take the bet if you don't get back to work."

The gruff voice of Gibbs echoed around the bullpen and they all looked up, their eyes going wide with terror. Gibbs had to suppress a smile at the three matching 'deer in headlights' expressions coming from 3/5 of his team.

"How exactly were you planning on finding out the outcome of the bet DiNozzo?" he asked as he descended the stairs.

"Um…I…ah…Ziva was going to find out!" Tony spluttered, pointing at his partner as he sat behind his desk. Ziva glared at him and grabbed a stapler from McGee's desk.

"I am a little disappointed in you Ducky." Gibbs scolded as he steered Ducky towards the stairs, leaving Tony cowering in a corner and Ziva advancing on him. "I thought you knew better."

"It was just too tempting Jethro. I know about you and power failures. I was with you in Paris , remember?" Gibbs response was lost as Tony and Ziva stared at each other.

"See Ziva," Tony sounded incredibly pleased with himself, "Frisky!"


	6. Stuck

**Title:** Stuck

**Author:** lindainsweden

----------------------------------------------------------

Jenny Shepard and Jethro Gibbs were making their way from the café across the street back to the headquarters on this bright and sunny day, each carrying a nice and creamy ice cream. It had been Gibbs' idea to go out together and since Jenny wasn't in the mood for reading reports nonstop all day she'd decided that it couldn't hurt to follow him outside for a while. She cherished every second spent with him; her feelings for him grew stronger with every day that went by. Even though she had been the one to end things in Paris she had never stopped loving him. Her job as a director of NCIS made it hard for her to pursue a relationship with a subordinate though and she had regretfully kept her feelings well hidden from everyone since the day she laid eyes on Gibbs again.

As they walked into the building Jenny called the elevator. Gibbs let her enter first and luckily there were no other people sharing their ride. Suddenly all went black and the poor emergency light lit up the small space barely enough for them to see each other.

"You didn't flip the emergency switch, did you?" Jenny asked Jethro, knowing he used the elevator as his private office as soon as he needed to discuss something not meant for public ears.

"Nope. Looks like the power went."

Gibbs reached for his cell and dialled DiNozzos' number.

"_Boss? You alright_?" Jenny could hear Tony ask as soon as he answered Gibbs' call.

"Yeah, the director and I are stuck in the elevator."

"_Alone?" _Jenny couldn't help but giggle at that typical DiNozzo question. He had been trying for months to get some information about them being a couple before but to this day Ziva had revealed squat.

"Yes Tony, alone!"

Tony looked around at his team members when he hung up and smiled widely.

"I bet fifty bucks that Gibbs and the director will be making out in the elevator." Ziva, always fast to defend her friend Jenny, quickly answered him.

"No way. Even if they were an item they would not be so careless. I'm in."

"Uhm, Tony?" came McGees' quiet voice from behind his desk.

"How are we going to know if they are making out or not when there's a power outage? The security cameras wont work and we can't hack in since the computers are dead too."

"Good point McGeek, but time will tell."

In the elevator Jenny noticed her ice cream started melting and since they probably had to spend some time inside it there was no point in ruining her ice cream by trying to save it for later. She started licking and sucking it in order to stop it from running down her hand, getting a long good stare from Gibbs. She realized what it might look like she was doing and she felt her cheeks blush slightly.

Gibbs decided to play the same game and started treating his ice cream in a similar way to Jenny, letting her see the work of his well trained tongue. When he was finished they were both slightly turned on by what the other was doing but both were intent on not acting on it, knowing it could mean the end of their careers.

Suddenly Gibbs noticed a drop of melted ice cream lingering in the corner of Jennys' mouth, causing him to involuntary lean in and gently kiss it away with his smooth and cool lips. Jenny gasped at this, her insides turning to jelly.

"Jethro?" she whispered questioningly, causing him to grin a wolfish grin at her.

"Ice cream." He leaned forward again and placed a kiss to her other corner as well making Jenny raise an eyebrow.

"Ice cream there too?"

"If that's what you want for a reason, then yes."

Jenny put a finger on Gibbs' lips. He swallowed hard, realizing this could very well be the start of their fall.

"Looks like a piece of ice cream there too. Maybe I should give it the Gibbs treatment?"

"And what's that?" he asked nervously, knowing just what she had in mind for him.

"This is."

Jenny closed the distance between them and kissed him sweetly on the lips. When she was about to pull away Gibbs surprised her by swiftly putting his arms around her and pressing her slender form into his warm body. He deepened the kiss and she gave him full access, not in the mood for turning the love of her life away after spending nine years apart.

They were so wrapped up in their own little world they didn't even realize the elevator was beginning to move again, resuming its previous journey up to the bullpen. The loud 'ding' signalling as the doors were opened caused them to jump apart, only to notice the team standing outside looking smug. Strangely enough everyone started handing Tony money.

"Yay, DiNozzo wins again!" he exclaimed - loud enough to let the entire bullpen hear his words, casing Jenny and Gibbs to look at each other knowingly, positively certain what had just taken place. They were so busted.

Suddenly Ducky turned up out of nowhere, not aware that something was going on.

"Jethro, there you are! When Abigail told me you and the director were stuck in the elevator during the outage I couldn't help remembering that time in London when you got stuck and didn't realize there was a security camera installed. I dare say that the footage was quite hot to watch."

"Ducky!" Jenny shouted, exasperated at his sudden lack of discretion and not particularly thrilled to hear that piece of information get out in the open. Gibbs was standing reassuringly at her side giving Ducky his patented Gibbs stare.

"Oh my, that's what happened today wasn't it? That's why you're all standing here." Ducky looked at Tony, who confirmed his suspicions with a nod before he was slapped at the back of his head.

"Shutting up now Boss."

Jenny suddenly grabbed Gibbs' arm and dragged him back into the elevator, mumbling something about them needing to talk. A few moments after the doors closed the team could hear the emergency brakes set in and they all laughed heartily at what was probably going right then inside the elevator.

Ducky sighed happily, causing the team to look at him curiously, knowing he knew more than he let on.

"I remember one time, while Jethro was on his so called 'Margarita safari', when mother asked me about…"

"Ducky!"


	7. Heat wave

**Fic Title:** Havin' A Heat Wave

**Author:** I Love NASCAR

**Feedback:** please

**Disclaimer:** The only profit I receive from this story is the feedback you provide. All creative rights to the characters belong to DB, not me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Washington D.C. was in the middle of a heat wave, the humidity in the air thick and oppressive, threatening to rain without actually fulfilling the promise. For the team that had been out all day, looking for a missing female Marine, it seemed like hell on earth. Timothy McGee and Tony DiNozzo spent the day trying to bet how hot it was and Ziva David drank through two bottles of the water they'd brought with them. They met at the NCIS truck at sunset, McGee first, then Tony and Ziva, followed by Ducky. Minutes passed without Gibbs appearing, unusual for their boss who seemed to be at the right place, at the right time, all the time.

When thirty minutes passed, they spread out again, searching for their boss, each worried, each trying to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. It was Tony who found Gibbs and yelled for Ducky, his two colleagues coming as well. Ducky was relieved to see his friend was still awake, if not alert, and, with Tony and McGee's help, managed to move him to the truck, telling Ziva to call headquarters and the nearest hospital.

------------------------------------------------------------

Jenny Shepherd was hot enough to break protocol on the dress code, allowing her people to dress down, doing so herself, putting her long red hair up, wearing a lightweight skirt, silk short-sleeve blouse, and no hose with her heels. Still, the power outage during the middle of the day gave her a reason to allow most of the non-essential personnel to go home, the rest to remain on call. As she worked on paperwork in front of a battery-operated fan, she pictured a cool sea breeze, a frozen strawberry margarita, and a dip in the ocean. She and Gibbs had been talking about having a vacation home down in Baja, where he'd taken his margarita safari, somewhere they could rest, maybe retire one day. It sounded wonderful, peaceful, and created a warm feeling that had nothing to do with the heat.

Her cell phone rang and she answered, not knowing what she expected, not expecting Ziva's voice on

the other end of the line. "Jenny."

Jenny knew something was wrong; Ziva very rarely called her by her first name anymore, choosing 'director' as most of the others did. "Ziva. Did you find the captain?"

Ziva shook her head, although she knew that Jenny couldn't see her. "No." She paused. "We are bringing Gibbs back to NCIS. He would not go to the emergency room."

Jenny felt her breath being stolen from her. "Ziva…let me talk to Ducky." She waited until her friend answered. "What happened?"

"It's just the heat. He won't go to the emergency room."

"Bringing him here won't do any good. The power's been out for a couple of hours. Everyone's gone." She paused. "Can you take him home? Please?" She sensed Ducky hesitating, weighing his options, knowing Gibbs wouldn't go to the hospital unless he was near death, knowing NCIS wouldn't do any good without air conditioning, and knowing the best thing for Gibbs then, as always, would be to see his girlfriend.

"All right, dear."

She smiled, although she knew he couldn't see. "Can I talk to him?" She asked, grabbing what she absolutely needed, heading towards the stairs.

Ducky gave his friend the cell phone and moved slightly away, trying to give them privacy. "Hey, Jen," Gibbs said, aware of whom Ducky had been talking to.

"Hey yourself." She felt better as she heard him talk, although she could tell he was tired, a little disoriented. "Ducky's going to take you home."

"Ziva's hitting every damned pothole in the street. Shoulda let DiNozzo drive."

She smiled. "And then you'd find something else to complain about." She started the long walk down the flights of stairs to the garage, thankful that the stairwell seemed a little cooler than her office. "I want you to do what Ducky tells you. I'll meet you at the house."

"I want a beer."

"You want a slap to the back of the head is what you want." She teased him. "I should call Shelby . She'd be happy to do it for me. Or DiNozzo. He's been wanting to for years."

"He wouldn't dare," Gibbs groused. "Are you really coming home?" He missed the closeness with her since they'd started the recent case.

"I'm on my way right now. Pick up some ice cream, that black swimming suit you like so much…"

"Je t'aime." Gibbs whispered, almost unheard.

Jenny stopped where she was, closing her eyes, and then opening them back up again. "Je t'aime, mon chéri. Je t'aime." She hung up and started walking again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ziva and Tony were sitting in the kitchen, when Jenny arrived with a paper sack and a backpack. "Are you both all right? Where's McGee?" She asked, letting herself inside the house.

"He took the car back to the base," Tony told her as she passed them both a pint of ice cream.

"What happened? I want to hear it from you first." She put the rest of the ice cream in the freezer.

"We don't know. Boss didn't show up. Ducky says it's heat exhaustion."

Jenny took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "All right. Both of you go home and rest. Make sure you have plenty of fluids." Ziva smiled at her concern and Tony nodded, asking her to call them about Gibbs before watching her walk into another room of the house.

Gibbs' eyes connected with Jenny immediately when she entered the room, smiling, taking in her outfit. "Hey."

"Hey." She addressed him first, then turned her attention to Ducky. "Tony said it was heat exhaustion?"

"He's dehydrated, gave his water away, drank caffeine, didn't take breaks during the day, didn't stay in the shade…basically ignored everything I told them to do."

"Sounds about normal, doesn't it?" She watched Gibbs roll his eyes. "What do I need to make sure he does?"

"Just keep an eye on him. Common sense should tell you what he can do and, if he overexerts himself, make sure he rests. I'll be at home. If you need me…"

Jenny nodded. "I'll call. I checked on Tony and Ziva, but McGee…"

"I'll check on him," Ducky promised, leaving Gibbs in Jenny's capable hands as she sat on the bed beside him.

As soon as Ducky left the room, Gibbs' hand moved up Jenny's bare leg, moving her closer to him. "Don't overexert yourself," she teased, not moving away.

"I'm just looking for that black swimming suit…" He kissed her as his hand explored.

"Do you feel like you can stand? Take a shower?"

He smiled mischievously. "With some help…"

"C'mon, Superman." She took his hands in hers, leading him to the adjoining bathroom.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs lay on the couch, feeling the cool sheet underneath, the fan blow air over his skin, watching Jenny as she returned to his side. Instead of the black swimsuit, she was wearing nothing but her panties and the old faded NIS shirt he usually worked on the boat in, her still damp hair tied back behind her, looking ten years younger than her actual age. He loved when she looked like that, casual, natural, like the Jenny he'd fallen for all those years ago. She settled beside him, pushing play on the old VCR he'd had for years, listening to the old familiar tune at the start of El Dorado , an old John Wayne movie, one of their favorites.

"Ice cream?" He asked, taking his from her.

"Coffee Heath Bar Crunch," she said, referring to his, opening her own Cherry Garcia yogurt. "Don't tell Ducky it has caffeine."

"I won't." He put an arm around her, feeling her body next to his, alternating between bites of his own ice cream and bites of her yogurt, watching the movie, so classic that he could almost quote it, relaxing with her, not worrying about a case or the heat or even his people, just resting and letting himself heal.


	8. Complete

**Title:** Completely

**Author:** Alex Cabot

-----------------------------------

It was late on a rainy Thursday afternoon and Ducky was visiting Abby in her lab, waiting for her to sign off on the chain of evidence. The NCIS team had been working a particularly nasty and stressful rape case, so high profile that even the Director had become involved.

"Weather doesn't look good" Ducky commented as Abby scribbled her scrawly signature onto the evidence form.

She shook her head, sending her braided pigtails flying.

"Nope," She agreed. "But I love storms."

Ducky smiled. He hadn't expected anything less from the lovable Goth.

As the rain lashed against the windows Tony, Ziva and McGee sat at their desks contemplating how long it would be before Gibbs would return from the Director's office so they could all go home.

"How much do you bet that Gibbs isn't talking to the Director about work?" Tony asked, to no one in particular. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ziva searching through her pockets for her wallet and McGee's face was creased with concentration. "Okay, that was rhetorical" Tony muttered just before Ziva announced

"Twenty bucks."

"Twenty five." McGee said with a wince, there was a permanent hole burnt out of his pocket because of Abby and her frequent bets, which he always lost.

"Thirty bucks says they were more than 'just partners' back in the day." Tony said, enjoying this now.

"Oh, come on, Tony, try something a little less obvious!" Ziva complained, unzipping another compartment in her wallet.

"What's a little less obvious?" Gibbs asked, approaching the bullpen and having only caught snatches of his agent's conversation

Tony, Ziva and McGee shared worried looks but before either of them had to answer the lights flickered once, twice and then the room was suspended in darkness. In the darkness a light flickered on as Gibbs dug his maglite out of his pocket.

"See, Rule Number 12; always be prepared." Tony muttered to Ziva.

"I thought that was never date a co-worker." She hissed back.

Retracing his steps that were only lit by the beam of his maglite, Gibbs headed back upstairs to the Director's office. Outside, Cynthia was stood on a chair examining the fuse box. Gibbs walked straight past her and into the Director's office.

"Jethro," Her voice came from somewhere in the darkness as the battery in Gibbs' maglite faded. "What happened to always be prepared?"

"It's your agency, Jen." Gibbs growled. "What happened? Did you forget to pay the electricity bills on time?"

Jenny managed to maintain her calm despite wanting to tell her ex lover where to stick his maglite, and her agency for that matter.

"Funny Jethro, really funny. I'd like to see how you'd handle the job actually, no 'margarita safaris' for you then." She replied, her voice controlled and even despite her increased heartbeat.

When Gibbs spoke again his voice had lost all of its previous anger.

"When are you going to forgive me for that, Jen?" He asked.

"When are you going to forgive me for walking away, Jethro?" She asked, the lack of electricity making the atmosphere between them even tenser and, if possible, it made the silence seem even quieter.

"Jen," She was the only person alive who could make Leroy Jethro Gibbs speechless. He wanted so much just to take her in his arms right now and to bring the past back to life. He waited for the right words to come to mind before he spoke again. "I have forgiven you. I do forgive you. I understand why you had to go Jen, I always did. I could never hold that against you." Three more words were close to dropping out but he held them back, he wasn't ready to play his final card yet.

In the darkness, Jenny's eyes found his and she found that she could not look away.

"And I forgive you for leaving too Jethro, I can only imagine what you've been through. I just wish you had told me about Shannon and Kelly."

"I wanted to tell you Jen, but would it have changed anything?" Gibbs asked.

Jenny considered this. "No, it wouldn't, but they were a huge part of your life Jethro and I wanted you to share your life with me."

"Until you walked away." Gibbs said, the bitterness returning. "Sorry," He added in a whisper, realising that her body had tensed beside him as the verbal blow connected.

"Don't apologise," Jenny began.

"It's a sign of weakness." They both concluded and laughed.

Jenny and Gibbs went to find Cynthia to see if she was having any luck getting the power back on.

"I think we're going to have to call in back up." Cynthia told the Director.

Jenny nodded. "Make the call, Cynthia."

"I'm going down to Abby's lab to make sure she's okay." Gibbs told Jenny as a loud clap of thunder erupted outside.

"Be careful, Jethro." Jenny felt the words slip off her tongue before she had time to stop them.

He turned around and smiled. "I always am, Jenny."

"Gibbs, is that you?" Abby called from the window, turning her back on the storm.

"Yes it is, but the power cut means no Caf Pow." Gibbs told her.

"I know," She sighed. "My freezer is defrosting too. I knew I shouldn't have bought all those tubs of chocolate ice cream, three for the price of two was too much for me to resist."

Gibbs smiled, rubbing Abby's shoulder. "Do you mind if I take one? I think it would cheer somebody up."

"Sure," Abby agreed. Gibbs pecked her cheek and went to receive a tub of ice cream from the rapidly defrosting freezer.

"Is Abby okay?" Jenny asked when Gibbs returned, her hands on her hips and a frown on her face as Cynthia was put on hold once again.

"She's fine." Gibbs replied. "Have you got a hold of the electricity company yet?"

"They keep putting us on hold" Jenny whispered as Cynthia actually managed to speak to a human being. The Director and Gibbs waited in silence until Cynthia had finished the call. They both looked at her expectantly and she had to swallow a lump in her throat. There was something about being in a close proximity to the pair of them that made her nervous. She cleared her throat.

"The power has gone down throughout the city, they company can't send anybody out for three more hours." Cynthia told them.

Jenny sighed. "Send everyone home, Cynthia." She rubbed her temples and headed into her office, searching the drawers in her desk for candles and matches. Gibbs followed her.

"Relax Jen, everything will be fine, the electricians will be here soon."

"I know," Jenny replied. "But being the first female Director of NCIS I just feel under so much pressure to do everything right, situations like this make me paranoid."

Gibbs placed a hand on her arm. "You have me" he told her, holding up the ice cream carton. "And chocolate ice cream."

"Where did you get that?!" Jenny asked.

"I have my sources." He replied with a smile.

Jenny took the container from his hands and took it over to her coffee table, setting up the candles so they had some light.

"Spoon?" Jenny asked.

"Ah," Gibbs cursed himself for forgetting the most obvious thing, there was something about being around Jenny that changed him.

"It's okay." Jenny assured him, taking off the lid and scooping some of the ice cream onto her finger and licking it off. She offered the container to Gibbs.

"Do you mind?" Gibbs asked, wondering if this was too much of a step over the director/agent boundary.

Jenny cracked a smile. "We've shared more than ice cream in our time, Jethro."

Gibbs smiled. He scooped up some ice cream onto his little finger and offered it to Jenny. She eyed up first before leaning forward and sucking the ice cream away, licking his finger as she did so. Gibbs' eyes widened with desire and Jenny could see the effect she was having on him. It was good to know she hadn't lost her touch after all of these years. Gibbs put the ice cream container to one side and took Jenny's face in his hands, pressing his lips to hers. If Jenny was surprised she didn't show it and she didn't back away either, instead she yielded to temptation and relaxed into the feeling of Gibbs' lips on hers and the taste of him mingle with chocolate.

Jenny found herself shedding her jacket and then helping Gibbs out of his, a dangerous desire bubbling in her, which she had not felt for years. Not since the last time she and Gibbs had made love, in fact. Jenny and Gibbs made their way to the couch, shedding garment after garment of clothing as they went. Neither of them paused long enough to wonder if what they were doing was wrong or not, and to be frank, for now, neither of them cared.

Half an hour later the power came back on, the lighting in Jen's office seeming falsely bright after the darkness they had been used to. Gibbs ran his hand down Jenny's bare stomach, waking her from the pleasant semi-conscious state she had fallen into after they had made love. Without looking at Gibbs, Jenny hastily got up and slipped her clothes back on.

"Jenny!" Gibbs called after her as she headed out of her office.

She barely turned around.

"I've got an agency to run, Jethro!"

Gibbs sighed, as he too got dressed. He knew whatever happened between him and Jen now, that it would forever be tainted by her loyalty to NCIS. He sat on the couch, his head in his hands as he relived the previous hour. It had seemed so right, just falling back into the old routine with Jenny. Alone, nothing seemed to have changed between them and the sex was nothing short of what he had imagined and what he remembered from their days as partners.

"Jethro?" Jenny called, re-entering her office ten minutes later. In truth, she was surprised to see him there; she had half expected him to flee by now.

"Jen," He looked up, his tired blue eyes boring into her's.

"About earlier…" Jenny began, shifting her weight from one high-heeled foot to the other.

"I understand." Gibbs said, a little mournfully.

"You do?" Jenny asked, glad that someone understood this unbelievably complicated situation.

"You have to put NCIS first, I get that." Gibbs told her.

"Yes," Jenny had to agree. "But I'm tired of sacrificing my life for this job, it's taken over my life and it's broken my heart. I know I'll never be truly happily as Director if I can't have someone to go home to at the end of the day." She paused for a beat, her eyes never leaving Gibbs'. "And I want that someone to be you, Jethro. I love you."

Gibbs stood up and took two steps forward until he was stood just in front of Jenny, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and she buried her head into the crook of his shoulder.

"I love you too, Jen" he whispered.

Jenny looked up at him and smiled, pressing a tender kiss to his lips.

A feeling of pure happiness washed over her, and, for the first time in years, she felt complete.


	9. Heart of glass

**Title:** Heart of glass

**Author:** Murrinholi

-----------------------------------

Glass. It is a strange material. As it forms, it is molten and floats above all the impurities. When it sets, it is cold, hard and smooth. Drop it and it becomes sharp and rough; heat it and it will shatter into a million pieces.

Glass that is what I am made from, as I became who I am, I floated to the top. I set into my mould with a hard, cold exterior, drop me and I am sharp tongued and vile., but fill me with that warm tingling sensation I crave and I break.

I have been broken before but I have always picked up the pieces and put myself back together. This time there are too many pieces, I will never find them and I will never put myself back together. I need someone to help me, but there is no one.

I have been here before, I pushed him away. I still continue to do so. I need him to help me pick up the pieces.

I stood stock still. Watching; the soft green grass sneaking through my open toed shoes, tickling my feet. The gentle rustling of the great Oak that stood proudly above me, the soft rays of the glistening sun dancing on the calm soft Loch. Everything sparkling and coming to life. Behind me in the distance I could just make out the towering castle. The quartz in the old sandstone glistening delightfully in the warmth from the early morning sun.

I turned back towards the alluring and graceful view that is Loch Lomond. I felt the soft whispy breeze swirl it's way up from my feet, slowly waltz around my neck before gliding off to find peace. The smell of freshly cut grass and wild red rose's sent my head spinning with memories, for last time I was in Balloch park, I was with him. Last time I was in Scotland in fact.

_He latched onto my arm, pulling me away from the waters edge. Whispering. We walked down a overgrown path, Trees looming, threatening to reach out and capture us with their ancient branches. Finally emerging in a beautiful walled rose garden. He wrapped his hands round my waist and pulled me close His lips danced close to mine, his breath sent shivers throughout my body, he placed gentle kisses on my neck, before whispering in my ear. _

"_I've never made love in a rose garden before" - I gasped at this, wrapping my arms tightly round his neck, pulling his head closer. _

That is what we did, we made love in that wonderful secluded spot surrounded by nothing but nature, I could still hear the soft chirping of the small birds that sat safely nestled on the branch's of the old trees. All this not a stones throw away from where I stood now.

I watched him, wondering if he remembered?

He had been reluctant at first to accompany me on this clandestine trip. I stood in my office, not two days ago, watching his brain try to come up with a plausible excuse not to attend. He watched and I waited; finally he spoke.

"We've got a case, I can't possibl-" I had cut him off then and there.

"Loch Lomond" I smiled to him, His left eye twitched for a second before he nodded and left.

He hadn't spoken to me since. Now I stood watching him. He sat perched on a wall at the waters edge, staring out into the distance. I couldn't see his face, and I wasn't sure I'd want to.

I stood there silently analysing his posture looking for any clue as to what he'd been thinking about for so long. I had been standing there for over twenty-minutes, trying to gather up the courage to go and talk to him.

When we landed on the calm Loch, something was awoken inside me, I knew from that moment that I had to talk to him, it was necessary as well as inevitable. Now was the perfect time, I had escaped my security detail and walked here. I had a inkling this is where he would be.

I bit my lip and slowly started the decent towards him.

He turned around slightly as he heard my shoes crunch on the dusty gravel.

"What ya doing here Jen?" he questioned, turning back mesmerized with the small waves beating against the shore.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and slid sideways onto his lap before he could react. Reflexively his hands slid around my waist as he looked at me with a shocked expression;

"Director?"

"Jen" I corrected him. We most definitely had to have this conversation on first name terms.

He stared at me in surprise. His eyes travelled from my face down my body to where his hands rested gently at my waist.

"What are we doing?" He enquired.

"Talking" I calmly replied. Angling my body so that I could more easily look him in the eye.

"We need to talk."

"I know" His response was characteristically succinct.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" he asked me, while keeping his eyes fixed on my face, rather than let them wander over my body. His hands still curled around my waist, fingers moving lightly against the wool of my top.

"Definitely" I said, I was determined to get everything out in the open and clear the air between us.

My hands fidgeted where they lay in my lap, in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness. I know this was going to be painful, like ripping off a bandied or pulling a tooth. I allowed myself to smiled at the use of those clichés.

"Any particular reason for the ….. location?" He enquired removing one hand from my waist to gesture loosely and my position, comfortably ensconced in his lap. He replaced his hand on my waist, slightly lower than before.

"I needed your full attention" Was my simply reply. I didn't need him running out on me, or not listening.

"Well, you certainly got that" A faint grin curling the edges of his mouth upwards.

I smiled slightly in response, taking a minute to admire the view before becoming serious again.

"You know Jethro we do have to talk. You must know it. And if I left it to you we wouldn't talk until It was too late to make the effort worthwhile. So here I am." I gazed determinedly at him, our eyes locked tightly, not letting either of us look away.

"Okaaaaaaaay, What do you want to talk about?" hardly a surprise, I had suspected he would be unwilling to initiate this discussion.

"My Dad said something to me before he ... died." I felt my eyes tear up at the memory and the realisation I was telling someone… him.

"Things that I already knew but didn't want to admit to myself. He said some things that I never imagined that I would hear my Father say, about disregarding rules in order to be happy. About finding true happiness." I paused inhaling deeply. "That I could have everything I wanted if I just opened my eyes and my heart. I didn't understand then, but I do now."

I watched him as he closed his eyes briefly. No doubt in my mind, that he hadn't expected this conversation. He attempted a slightly up-beat demeanour.

"Well if anyone is capable of getting what they want, it's you. I was always glad to have you on our side. You just have to work out what you do want."

"Coming back here, to this wonderful special place. We spent a weekend here years ago, do you remember? Me you and Ducky after our little boat escape. I made one of the worst mistakes in my life forgetting that." I paused taking another calming breath. He remained silent waiting for me to continue.

" I know what I want Jethro and it's you."

He kept his eyes fixed on the Loch, watching the swans duck under the water and reappear shaking their heads.

"I feel so bad about the way I treated you in Europe. You deserved much better than that. Coming back here helped me realise a few things, get everything straight in my mind. I knew I needed to talk to you, to try and explain myself, to say how sorry I am." Tears began to slowly slide silently from my eyes, gliding down my cheeks.

"Can you forgive me for how I treated you?"

He put his arms around my shoulders gathering me into his chest and whispering in my ear. "Jen Jen, it's alright. It's my fault too. I was too much of a coward to do anything about us. I should have followed you Even when you came back I did nothing. Deep down I still knew there was an 'us' but didn't do anything on any of the opportunities you gave me, like two weeks ago standing in your hallway. I should have said or done something then, I didn't."

He fell silent after his uncharacteristic speech revealing so much of his feelings.

He placed his chin over my shoulder, held me tightly and said "It's okay, we'll fix it. We'll make it all better." I slowly calmed as he gently rubbed my back in small circles. Eventually I pulled away from him slightly wiping my tears away with the back of my hand.

"God I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall apart like that" I searched my pockets for a tissue. "How are we going to fix it?"

"Don't worry I have some ideas." He kissed me on the forehead and lifted me to my feet. He put his arm around my waist and I leant against him. "We'll go back, sit down and talk okay?"

I nodded.

We walked almost silently back to Cameron House. Along the long windey path, with a blanket of trees rustling gently above us, then over the old bridge.

We entered the gracious 18th century baronial mansion, to find chaos awaited us. Agents from various world agencies bustled about shouting and then whispering into their hands.

Max gingerly approached us, a look of relief etched on his soft features. This particular member of my security detail was more cautious than Gibbs. Everything had to be taken into consideration. He was a little anal for my liking but he got the job done.

"Director, we were worried. We couldn't find you anywhere."

"Just keeping you on your toes." I responded, smiling to Gibbs. Max may be the best, but so was I. If I didn't want to be found I wasn't.

"We've had a crisis at head quarters, Agent Dinozos been calling all morning for you." Typical I thought as I held out my hand to Gibbs. He knowingly placed his cell phone in it.

I punched in the familiar numbers and waiting impatiently as the phone rang.. And rang.. He finally picked up.

"Tony what is the crisis." I heard him gulp.

"Powers out. We've lost everything, some short circuit in the power room or something, all the computers have crashed, Abby's working on getting them back up an-" Gibbs yanked the phone from my grasp.

"Deal with it Dinozzo"

"On it Boss."

Gibbs flipped the phone in his hands glaring at Max.

"Next time if there IS a next time your trusted with the safety of the Director of NCIS I suggest you keep a closer eye on her."

He brought the phone back to his ear and wiggled his finger inviting me to listen.

"HA, told you he'd be with her" Tony chirped enthusiastically.

"I believe the wager is yours, although the slight technicality of your assumption bothers me slightly. What was it you said?"

"He said they'd be holed up in her room for hours and hours doing what Mummy's and Daddy's do" Abby supplied.

"Quite. Well my dear boy, albeit sneakily, you have secured yourself the winnings." Ducky surrendered.

"First bound is on Tony."

"Zivaaaah, I think you mean 'first round is on Tony.'"

"I know what I meant, but thanks for offering, we accept."

I could practically see the sly grin cross her lips.

"You've taught her well." I whispered to Gibbs.

"Dinozo, how about doings some work?" We both smirked slightly as the line went dead.

Gibbs shut his phone and placed his hand on the small of my back.

He shot Max a warning look, a mixture of daring him to follow, and telling him to back off. It was never easy with Gibbs, sometimes he craved both confrontation and silence.

We walked up the grand marble staircase towards my room. His hand still hesitantly hovering on my back. He opened the door and let me go through first. He headed towards the mini bar beside the towering bay window. I retreated into the bathroom to freshen up.

As I re-entered the room, I saw him casually lean over the balcony.

"I was right" I spoke as I reached his side.

He leaned forward towards me, his voice dropping down to a seductive whisper as he listed the reasons why he a thought that leaving Dinozzo in charge was the best course of action. Unhinged. That was the word he used to describe my over- protectiveness of the agency.

Much like I was feeling right then as he shifted closer to me, a whiff of his cologne catching my attention. It smelled exotic and heady as I fought to keep composure. Telling him I wanted him right then and there probably wasn't a good idea. My stomach involuntarily contracted as his breath swept across my lips and his soft voice filled my ears.

"If it wasn't Dinozzo left to play 'Director', then it would have been me and I wouldn't be here now."

"You think." I retorted.

That was it. The proverbial straw that broke the camels back. I didn't realise until after his mouth crashed down on mine that this may not be the best way to start off our newly found understanding.. Dare I call it relationship?

But I finally overcame the surprise of his actions and slowly moved my head and parted my lips slightly. I realised that I didn't care at that moment. The only thing existed in my world now was the feel of his soft lips brushing against mine as our heads moved exactly in tune with the other.

Our eyes continued to stay locked, the desire smouldering in his and no doubt mine. His hand moved from his side to the back of my neck, brining me if at all possible closer to him. His other hand slid down to my waist, sliding up inside my woollen coat. I soaked up the warmth from his hand through my cotton shirt.

_His tongue darted out against her lips and he watched her eyes finally flutter shut in defeat before he heard the sound that would be the cause of many a long night of him lying awake in bed, painfully aroused. She moaned. She moaned sensually into his mouth and he felt his body catch on fire, the blood throbbing downward faster than he could blink. His tongue prodded farther into the slight opening of her mouth and at the first contact of her tongue on his, he felt the electric charge course through his body. If spontaneous human combustion was possible, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was in grave danger._

_Their tongues slid across each other frantically and his hand worked its way farther up her body until he was cupping her breast. He felt her sharp intake of breath and pressed her tighter against the railings. Her arms snaked around his neck and she threaded her fingers through his hair, messing up the perfect strands . The feeling of her nails scratching over his scalp made him press even deeper into her, his tongue tracing every line of her mouth._

_The seconds had ticked into minutes before they both had to finally pull away, chests heaving and pulse pounding in their ears. He nervously tried to read her expression. _

_In fact, she looked... relieved? As her breath evened out, she opened her eyes. He continued to watch her apprehensively. For all his talk of reading people, at that moment, he had no clue what she was going to do next. _

I leaned forward, my top lip making contact with the bottom of his earlobe.

"Perhaps I should hear some of your 'ideas'" I grinned.

I pushed past him and smiled confidently as I walked towards the small sofa inside the room.

He followed me but stalled for a second retrieving something from the tiny fridge. He then joined me on the sofa with a small circular box and a spoon. He wrapped his arm comfortingly around my shoulder I snuggled slightly into his side.

"I could retire" he said simply while pulling the lid seductively off the box.

"No Jethro, I couldn't take another margarita Safari." He grinned and swirled the spoon gently above the dark chocolate Ice-cream. I meanwhile brought my legs up underneath me, staring at him expectantly.

"Are you going to give me some of that?" I questioned. He just smirked and dug the spoon into the frozen ice-cream, gathering up a generous amount before shoving the spoon in my direction.

I could feel my eyes grew bright with fire dancing in them as I obliged and he slipped it in, I let out a deep moan while the spoon was still in my mouth. He shifted awkwardly in his seat and I just smiled as I released the spoon.

"Something bothering you Jethro"

"Maybe I could transfer?" He suggested.

"You're too valuable to the agency" I stated.

He then made to put the now full spoon in his mouth, I however had other ideas. I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling it towards me I smiled at his expression before biting down hard on the Ice-cream and the spoon, looking up at him mischievously.

"Enjoying yourself Jen?"

"Very much, it's been a while since anyone fed me Ice-cream" - I saw mock horror in his face, as he tried to remember.

"I have an idea." I began. "As long as it doesn't effect our job, I can't see SecNav or anyone else having a problem with us. That however presents us with the little problem of your 'rules'."

He stared at me for a while, thinking hard. His brow furrowed in concentration. I bravely rested my head on his shoulder.

"That one was created for a reason, doesn't count."

"No??" I questioned.

"Not for us Jen" He replied, claiming victory on the fact he successfully devoured one spoonful of ice-cream. I smacked him on the thigh!

"Hey no fair, give me some." he obliged feeding me the last of the ice-cream.

"So there's nothing stopping us."

It was more of a statement than a question.

"Nup" he replied.

"Good."

I burrowed my way happily into his side, wrapping my hands around his waist. He placed his arms firmly around my shoulders.

I sighed contently. "I love you Jethro."

I felt his smile as his chin rested on top of my head.

"Always."

Glass. It is a strange material. As it forms, it is molten and floats above all the impurities. When it sets, it is cold, hard, and smooth. Drop it and it becomes sharp and rough; heat it and it will shatter into a million pieces. Glass that is what I am made from, as I became who I am, I floated to the top. I set into my mould with a hard, cold exterior, drop me and I am sharp tongued and vile, but fill me with that warm tingling sensation I crave and I break.  
I have been broken before but I have always picked up the pieces and put my self back together. This time I needed help to find the pieces, I couldn't put myself back together; I needed his help. He is my rock, he keeps me standing straight and tall, he is there to catch me as I fall, he won't ever let me break, he will never let me shatter.

Rubber, it stretches and springs back into shape, it melts in the sun and sets to form a smooth warm exterior. Drop something onto it and it bounces, like a trampoline I am stretched underneath her, I stop her from hitting the floor, I stop her from breaking, I am her safety net. Take me away and she breaks.


	10. Of margaritas and ice cream

**Title: **Of Margaritas and Ice Cream

**Author: **Aserene

**------------------------------------------------------------------**

August in Washington DC was never pleasant. The city was sticky, it felt awful to have to put on a suit and jacket, and so he opted for a summer one as opposed to a normal weight. As he left the house the sun was barely getting up and it reminded him of other mornings, specifically those in Paris, when he'd hardly been asleep but more enjoyable engaged and… _STOP!_ He refused to remember those moments, not when he had a triple homicide waiting for him. He made record time to the crime scene, an inviting lake that looked perfect for a picnic, well if it hadn't been for the blood spatter and bodies.

"Gibbs!" He turned to see Ziva coming up the small rise and met her gaze not spotting her partner. _DiNozzo picked the wrong day to be late._

"Where's DiNozzo?" he demanded.

"With Ducky, he went for an unexpected swim." He could see was trying not to laugh. Gibbs glanced over the scene, McGee was taking photos, Palmer was checking over the bodies, and Ducky was with Tony.

"What do we have?" His voice must have carried because Tony and Ducky looked up, Tony quickly getting to his feet and coming over.

"Triple homicide Boss, looks like they were partying late, someone interrupted and…"

"I can see that DiNozzo! Who are they and who killed them?"

"We're working on that Boss," Tony answered.

"Cause of death Ducky?"

"Well I won't know for sure till I open them up, but I'd guess the knife wound down their chests."

"Weapon?"

"Missing," Ziva replied.

"McGee!"

"Nothing yet Boss, but I have their phones and I'll be able to get something off them when I get to the lab."

"Good, DiNozzo what are you doing?"

"Uh…examining…looks like they were drinking margaritas and eating ice cream." Gibbs simply nodded and continued walking around the crime scene, answering his phone a minute later. Tony watched the Boss closely and smirked. "Zee-Vah!"

"What?" She responded irritated swatting flies.

"Twenty bucks says Gibbs is talking to the Director," he taunted. Both McGee and Ziva looked over.

"It's only five-thirty, you think the Director would be up that early?" McGee inquired.

"Maybe someone woke her up when they left," Tony hinted. Ziva sighed, it never failed, and Tony always brought this up at least once during every case. While she was fairly certain it might be the Director on the phone, she didn't want to get in trouble.

"It's not her," Ziva assured.

"Right…" Tony paused having lost sight of Gibbs until his head snapped forward.

"You done with the scene yet DiNozzo?"

"Yes Boss, we were just packing up." Gibbs smirked as the team bolted to the van; he put his phone back to his ear.

"We're leaving now," he said into and heard the hard, 'good' and the dial tone. He closed his phone staring at it a moment._ someone hasn't gotten enough sleep._ He drove back to NCIS and was sitting at his desk when the lights flickered. He glanced out the window, _no storm, maybe it's just heat lightening._ The lights then went out, the team glanced around this time hoping they would come back on. They did a minute later but the familiar hum of the central air failed to begin again.

"Generator Boss," McGee called out as his computer came up.

"We lost power!" Tony exclaimed.

"Generator set to power Autopsy, Abby's lab, and MTAC," McGee informed as his computer crashed again.

"McGee down with Abby, help her out. DiNozzo, Ziva…" His orders were interrupted by a very familiar voice rising in volume.

"What the hell do you mean the power will take 1-2 days to be back on?"

"Uh Boss…we'll be with Abby," Tony called as he and Ziva bolted to follow McGee. Gibbs slowly moved up the stairs and toward the Director's office in time to intercept the Director as she rushed from her office.

"Where's the fire Jen?" She was furious about something and glared at Cynthia who quickly left her desk and Gibbs followed Jenny back into her office. She slammed the door close.

"We have no air conditioning," she snapped.

"That's what happens when the power goes out," Gibbs remarked.

"It's not funny Gibbs. All of DC is in a blackout, they're predicting a blackout like the one in New York a few years ago."

"The generator will last."

"This is going to be hell," she muttered twisting her hair up. "Well ditch the dress code, casual dress till the power is back, teams off unless they have an active case…" Gibbs tuned out the rambling for a minute. He'd forgotten how the heat affected her and wondered if she would follow the casual dress code as well. "Jethro?" Her voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yes I'll tell them."

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying," she sighed. He didn't respond. "You going to tell me about the case so I can tell the SecNav we're still working?"

"Triple homicide, bodies have knife wounds, Ducky…" he drifted off as her cell phone vibrated on the desk.

"Shepard." He could only hear her side. "He's here. I'll tell him." She hung up and looked back toward him. "Ducky has something for you." He moved out the door and she followed till he turned to look at her.

"Director?"

"Oh come on Jethro, I'm not being stuck in my office," she complained bypassing him heading for the stairs.

"No interfering," he warned as he caught her.

"You won't even know I'm there." He highly doubted that. Ignoring her presence was something he hadn't learned to do in eight years; he doubted he would start today. They entered autopsy moments later, thankful the generator was still functioning.

"Ah Jethro, Director," Ducky greeted.

"What do you have Duck?" Gibbs questioned.

"Well it appears my preliminary hypothesis was wrong. The cause of death is poisoning. The knife wounds were post mortem."

"Poisoned with what?" Jenny asked.

"Well if I had to guess, I would say it was the margaritas," Ducky informed watching Jenny bite her lip to withhold what he thought was laughter. Gibbs noticed as well and turned to leave, leading the Director away.

"Call me when you know more." They headed for Abby's lab.

"So a margarita safari gone awry," she joked.

"You enjoying this?"

"Oh only a bit more than a lot." They entered Abby's lab to find the team and ice cream cartons.

"Abby?" Gibbs called. The Goth jumped up.

"Gibbs!" She exclaimed. "Still awaiting tox screens but we know the poison wasn't in the margaritas."

"Then what was it in?" Abby held up a carton of Vanilla Swirl Ice Cream.

"Most likely this."

"And you're eating from it why?" Gibbs demanded.

"Well you see Boss, Abby has a stockpile and she's afraid it would melt," Tony explained digging back into the Cherry Garcia in front of him.

"Here Jenny," Ziva said handing her a pint of Ben and Jerry's Rocky Road. "I know you're not overly fond of this flavor but…"

"It's hot enough," Jenny interrupted her friend's words. She didn't need to look to know that Gibbs was starring at her curiously. It wasn't that she didn't like Rocky Road; it's just that it usually brought back memories of summer in Paris.

"Well Jenny if you don't like it I'll…" Gibbs tried to take it from her hands but she moved out of reach, settling into a chair with a spoon.

"I'll take it," she replied not feeling particularly bad. She began to eat it hoping she could finish it before it melted. Gibbs pried his eyes off her form, he'd get her back later because judging by the faint smile she was remembering the same thing he was.

"So who positioned the sailors?"

"Well I've tracked their movements Boss, and it seems like someone there must have added it," McGee explained.

"So whose the fourth person?" Jenny inquired between bites.

"No idea," Ziva answered. "There was no evidence of a fourth person enjoying the ice cream."

The computer beeped and Abby looked over.

"Tox screen is back and our poison is…LSD."

"Not what I was expecting," Tony commented.

"Possible overdose," McGee suggested. Ziva answered her phone as Abby continued explanations.

"Well this is a high concentration of LSD, defiantly added to the ice cream, maybe to get a better trip?"

"Boss I got something off one of the phones," McGee announced as he put the video on the large screen. Singing voices filled the room as three people appeared on the screen dancing around the campfire.

"_Some people claim that there's a woman to blame…_"

"LSD induces hallucinations," Tony began.

"You think DiNozzo, McGee is there someone holding the phone?"

"Yea Boss, there are definitely four voices."

"So whose the mystery fourth man?" Abby asked.

"Another sailor," Ziva informed closing her phone. "Metro says a fisherman hooked the fourth body out of the lake."

"Probably thought he could walk on water," Tony concluded.

"Gear up!" Gibbs ordered. "Tony you lead, I'll be with Ducky."

"Sure thing Boss, let's go Probie!" Jenny chuckled softly as the three left, Abby joined in and Gibbs glanced at them.

"Something amusing Madame Director?"

"Not at all."

"Abby?"

"Nope," the girl answered. Gibbs nodded not really getting it and sure he wouldn't, and moved toward the door.

"Jenny?" He called back. She looked as if she were trying to decide between the ice cream and playing agent. "The ice cream can come."

"Bye Abby!" She said grabbing the pint and going to catch him. She followed him down the hallway continuing to snack on the ice cream until she suddenly found herself against the wall in the secluded hallway. It took her a minute to figure out what had happened and another minute to decide it was fine. Gibbs had his hands on her hips holding her in place. She had the ice cream carton between them and continued to snack. She resisted the urge to smirk, _control finally snapped, did it?_ She knew ice cream got to him. "I though we were going to Ducky."

"We are," he assured resisting the urge to kiss the chocolate off her lips. Sure they'd spent a lot more time together lately, and he had stayed at her house once or twice, but they were hardly back together.

"Wanna taste?" She inquired holding the spoon.

"If you insist," he leaned down and kissed her, his tongue licking her lips until she yielded. The second she did he used all his self-restraint and pulled back to meet her green eyes. "Tastes good."

He then let her go and continued down the hallway. She leaned against the wall for half a minute and then her brain began to function again. She quickly caught up to him, to find he was waiting just outside autopsy with a smug little grin. She could slap him, or she could use alternative measures to get rid of the grin. She ate the rest of the ice cream and thoroughly licked the spoon getting the very last bit of the flavor, leaving none to waste. She knew she had his undivided attention and whatever teasing comment had died on his lips. She walked straight past him through the doors into autopsy, chucking the empty container.

"Director, I'm surprised Jethro isn't with you," Ducky remarked.

"He'll be in, in a minute. The heat's getting to him," she replied sounding very pleased with herself. Gibbs did enter about thirty seconds later standing on the far side of the table and Ducky glanced between the two of them.

"Ducky anything new?" Gibbs demanded.

"Not since the last time you asked, oh twenty minutes ago," Ducky answered. "I sent Mr. Palmer to collect the floater," he informed studying his friend. He did look a little flushed; he looked back over at the Director and felt a small smirk cross his lips. He had been around the two since the beginning and it hadn't taken him long to figure out when things had shifted the first time around and unless his were betraying him, things were about to shift again.

"Call me when…"

"When I know, you'll know Jethro," Gibbs went back out and Jenny was going to follow but Ducky held her back a second. "What did you do to him now?" he had no doubt that Gibbs' delayed appearance was her fault.

"Who me?" She answered innocently her green eyes wide. Ducky raised an eyebrow. "I didn't do anything…" She was cut off as Gibbs reentered taking her arm and leading her out.

"Well young man," Ducky began talking to the body on his table. "I do believe the heat has gotten to them both. Reminds me of a time…"

----------------------------------

The following morning Gibbs stood in front of the plasma taking swigs of his coffee and trying to figure out if there was a fifth person involved in the now quadruple homicide. The squad room was sweltering, as the power that had returned would not stay on if the air conditioning were turned on. Tony and McGee were at their desks, Ziva having abandoned them for Abby's lab where it was somewhat cool. They'd come in early to try and close the case and so not everyone had arrived. He heard the ding of the elevator on the MTAC floor and glanced up just see. He had every intention of just a brief glance but his eyes were transfixed.

Long, barely tanned legs caught his eyes and he followed them up to mid thigh where they hit denim and continued to a white blouse that hid the familiar curves. He reached the chest and scoop cut and finished the survey noticing the red hair pulled half up, the lower tendrils slightly curled. He glanced over his shoulder just to make sure no one else was appreciating this view and for once found DiNozzo focused on his work. He turned his attention back to the catwalk just in time to glance the back of the top. It was a lower cut back revealing the freckles he'd used to spend hours counting and traced the back till the bow. It was small, obviously part of the style of the top and he wondered if the bow came undone what would happen to the top. His view was impaired as she disappeared into her outer office and he was not happy with that. Not at all.

"Boss?" Tony's loud voice cut into him and he turned slightly.

"What DiNozzo?"

"Ducky called, he's made his final ruling on the fourth sailor."

"Well don't just stand there."

"Boss," McGee hesitantly called.

"What?" Gibbs snapped about to follow Tony.

"Director on the line," McGee held out the phone. _Oh decisions…go to Ducky, go see Jen. What a tough call._ Gibbs hung up the phone, knowing it would annoy her.

"McGee go with Tony, I'll be upstairs." McGee hurriedly joined Tony.

"Where's Gibbs, Probie?"

"He hung up on the Director, then said he'd be upstairs."

"He hung up…" Tony glanced to the catwalk. "Give a time limit?"

"No."

"I think we should check on Ziva and Abby after Ducky." McGee nodded.

-------------------------------

Gibbs smirked as he made his was down the hall to the Director's office. No doubt Jenny was fuming that he'd hung up on her. He was half way to her door when her blur passed him. He recognized the perfume and simply turned to follow her, trying to make sure his eyes did not wander below her neck. She almost slammed the door to MTAC in his face but he caught it and followed her in as she took a seat in the front row, crossing one leg over the other. He noticed there were no techs present and he momentarily confused till she grabbed a remote and the screen came to life.

"There a reason you hung up on me?"

"I…"

"McGee doesn't have the guts," she responded.

"You called me, what was it you wanted?"

"How's your margarita safari case coming?"

"Is that what you're calling it?" He questioned.

"Sounded better than The Drugged Ice Cream case."

"Ice cream ecstasy," he corrected his voice low. To her credit she didn't even blush. _Well that didn't work,_ so he tried a new tactic. "You're enjoy casual dress day."

"You could just say you like the top," she sighed.

"I haven't decided yet."

"Maybe if you stopped looking at my shoes…" she trialed off trying to hide her amusement. She was fully aware of his eyes tracing the line from her ankle to her thigh.

"They're pretty shoes, go great with the pink nail polish." He was not even going to pretend to be ashamed. Sure hadn't seen that much of her skin in a very long time, but he had a great memory and the skin brought back lots of very good memories. To top it off, he had always admired her legs.

"I wouldn't do that, the SecNav is about to come online," she sighed.

"Do what?" he questioned confused. He didn't think he was that transparent. She withheld a smirk.

"Mind out of the bedroom Jethro," she whispered standing as the SecNav's image came on.

"Director, how is the lake case coming?"

"We're waiting on the final ruling, so far my agents have had no indication that they were unknowingly drugged.

"Agent Gibbs, is there a reason why the case should be considered a homicide?" SecNav asked and Jen noticed he had come to stand next to her, closer than usual.

"We're still treating it as such until the medical examiner says otherwise, but we believe the fourth sailor mutilated the bodies of his companions in a hallucination and then went for swim and ultimately drowned," Gibbs explained.

"Keep me informed. Director, I'm working on getting NCIS back up to full power, but it maybe a few days yet."

"Thank you Sir." She pressed a button on the remote and the screen went dark. "Have you spoken to Ducky yet?"

"You called me up here, I sent DiNozzo and McGee and…" he held up his pausing her interruption and answering the phone. "You're two minutes late!"

"Sorry Boss, Ducky says he drowned, but would have overdosed anyway."

"Good, case closed. Get up stairs, write your reports, you have two hours." He slammed his phone shut.

"I guess I'll wait the two hours and sign them."

"You could go home."

"No A/C there either. It doesn't really mater."

"Heat doesn't seem to be bothering you," he mocked slightly. She moved slightly ignoring him, pulling her flip-flop tighter to her foot. It was involuntary but his eyes followed the movement of her hand and he could see her balance was slightly off so he caught hold of her arm. She straightened and moved toward the door, slipping out of his hold.

"See you in two hours," she called over her shoulder. _Not two hours,_ he protested silently.

He went down to the squad room, placed his cell phone on his desk and picked up his desk phone dialing the Director's line. He said two words and watched a minute later as Jenny walked straight across the catwalk to the elevator.

"Going for coffee."

"Boss it's like a hundred," Tony said incredulously. Gibbs whacked his head. "Shutting up now Boss." Gibbs headed for the elevator and the team watched.

"That's odd."\

"What Probie, that the man wants coffee on the hottest day of the year…"

"No, Gibbs left his phone," McGee informed. Both Ziva and Tony glanced up and toward the elevator. Tony got up strolling over; he was just about to grab the phone when a voice stopped him.

"Tony why are you at Gibbs desk?"

"Abby," McGee hissed.

"Listen Abby, I just want to make sure Gibbs hasn't missed any calls," Tony defended grabbing the phone.

"You're trying to win the bet," Ziva guess. She looked over his shoulder. "But you've lost, it was a call from House 2 this morning." Abby came over and glanced at the number.

"That's not Gibbs' house line."

"One way to find out, Probie!" Tony called.

"Come on Tony, Gibbs will kill us."

"I'll call it," Tony threatened.

"Fine." McGee triangulated the number. "Shandon Drive, no anyone there?" Ziva sighed and handed Tony a twenty-dollar bill. Ducky came around the corner and found the team standing around.

"There a reason the elevators are out?" The elder man questioned.

"They should be working," McGee informed.

"Is Gibbs in them?"

"He did just leave for coffee, but there was no one with him."

"Maybe…" the elevator opened on the squad room floor.

"Well that was odd," Ducky remarked heading toward the elevator.

-----------------------------------

He glanced at his watch; it was a really good thing he pretty much knew how long each elevator took to move from floor to floor. He stepped out and moved around to the back entrance where the elevator for MTAC would stop. He stepped off in the alcove and waited the five seconds and watched as the elevator ding and the doors begin to open. Jenny stepped off looking around, he watched her tense as she stepped cautiously past the alcove and he snagged her wrist with his one hand. Her other hand came up and he caught it forcing her to face him.

"Gee Jenny is that any way to greet your old partner," he teased.

"Is there a reason for the cloak and dagger?" She inquired sounding bored.

"You could use some exercise so we're going for a walk to get coffee."

"Jethro its hot out," she whined.

"Better here than in there. Come on I'll buy you ice cream," he promised.

"I have ice cream in the house," she responded as she slipped on hand from his grip and brushed the hair off her neck.

"Okay." He led her toward his car.

"Okay what?"

"We can go eat the ice cream at your house, wouldn't want it to melt all over your hardwood kitchen floors, unless you have a better idea."

"Oh I have ideas," she replied sliding into the car, the leather burning her legs. "Ow."

"Hey at least its tan leather, your car has black."

"Just turn on the car." He did so and as they pulled out she adjusted the air.

"You're just going to be more uncomfortable when we get out," he warned.

"At least this car has air conditioning," she muttered. They got out of the car as once they'd parked in her driveway and went through the house, Jenny knowing it was empty. He followed her through to the kitchen, dropping his jacket over the railing. She already had pulled the cooler open that had the ice cream packed with ice. She grabbed a container of vanilla and set it on plate on the counter and grabbed two spoons.

"What happened to the chocolate?"

"Ate it last night."

"You're going to be sick with so much ice cream," he warned as she took another bit of the vanilla.

"I didn't hear you complaining about ice cream before," she reminded, turning her back for a second. That turned out to be a mistake, because he snagged her waist and pinned her between the counter and him. She didn't seem overly concerned about her new position, just taking another bite of ice cream. "Wanna taste?" She looked up meeting his darkened blue eyes.

"If you insist." His mouth covered hers in a soft, tasting kiss that quickly became possessive. She tilted her head kissing him back, ensuring that she was just as active a participant. Her hands managed to place the container back on the counter behind her before reaching up and wrapping around his neck. The kisses became softer until they were barely brushing, still he held her closer, as he pulled back enough to let her breathe.

"Tastes good."

"Good," she replied, her brain not quite ready to form coherent sentences yet. He met her darkened eyes and kissed her cheek lightly. They hadn't talked about this, they hadn't talked period, things had just sort of happened. They'd started spending time together, almost unconsciously and while he admitted it or not, he really hoped this meant they were going forward.

"Jen…" he trailed off. "We could always say this was to much sweets, and to much heat and ignore it." That triggered a smile he hadn't seen in years, just as it had triggered one in Marseilles.

"Didn't use that excuse the last time, don't think I'll use it this time," she whispered against his lips kissing him again. The kiss soon became deep and passionate a powerful force of nature that neither had any intention of stopping .His lips trailed down her neck, to the spot right below her ear as she melted into him, his hands trailing down to her bare legs.

"Want to christen the kitchen, again?"

"Later," she giggled. "Bed now."


	11. Labor Day

**Title**: Labor Day

**Author**: I Love NASCAR

**Pairing:** Jibbs, Tony/Other

**Feedback**: please

**Disclaimer**: The only profit I receive from this story is the feedback you provide. All creative rights to the characters belong to DB, not me.

-------------------------------------------

It was one of the hottest days in Washington history. Oppressive and muggy; especially for a nine-month pregnant Jenny Shepherd. Frequently, she wondered why she wasn't at home, resting, but part of her knew the reason: she wanted to get as much done before the baby came so that she could stay home without worrying for at least a month. She answered her private line when it ran, thinking it might be Gibbs. She wasn't completely disappointed when it turned out not to be Gibbs but his sister, Shelby.

"Jen." The blonde ran her hand on the back of her neck, feeling the sweat.

"I'm going out for ice cream. You want any?"

"Anyone ever tell you you're an angel?" Jen asked relieved, thinking that maybe ice cream would cool her off as nothing else had.

"Just Tony...but I don't think he means it." She laughed at the small joke. "Do you want me to bring it back?"

Jenny looked at the work on her desk, not in the mood to do any of it. She was tired, hot, and cranky; a small break would do her good. "Where are you?"

"Coming out of Abby's lab with her order. Cherry Garcia, of course."

"Meet me at the elevator. I'll come with you."

Shelby inwardly groaned, but the truth was, she really didn't care. The only bad spot about Jenny joining her was the inability to pick just one flavor. "Okay."

Jenny shut down the office and grabbed her cell phone. Gibbs had traveled out of town with his team for a case and hadn't made it back yet, but he tended to call to check on her every chance he got.

Shelby checked her watch, looking up when Jenny came downstairs, feeling a tiny bit sorry for her friend. Although she'd waited for years to be pregnant, it had to be hard to be that much pregnant in a heat wave. Jenny was small enough that the pregnancy seemed to be almost swallow her and she knew her friend wasn't getting much sleep with her brother out of town. "You know what you want?"

"Cake batter. Chocolate chip cookie dough. Chocolate fudge brownie. Chocolate peanut butter swirl. Cinnamon buns..." She trailed off and then laughed. "Who am I kidding? Everything sounds good." They waited for the elevator to reach the floor and then got on, the doors closing. "What about you?" Shelby hesitated and Jenny smiled at her concern. "If it doesn't bother me that your brother drinks coffee by the ton, it's not going to bother me if you want something with coffee."

"Mochachillo. Definitely." Like her brother and Jenny, before the pregnancy, she was addicted to coffee.

Jenny smiled, but her smile faded as the elevator came to a jerking halt, the lights going out, stranded between floors. Jenny cried out, the jerking movement causing what she at first hoped were more Braxton-Hicks contractions, but was soon convinced, due to the gush of liquid, that it wasn't false labor.

"Jen?" Shelby moved towards her friend, finding the wet substance with her shoe. "Oh, God. Tell me that's not..."

"See if you can get a signal on your phone," Jenny said, lowering herself to the ground, breathing through the contractions, thinking of all the times she and Gibbs had been stopped between the floors in the elevator, sometimes talking, sometimes not.

"And call Ducky?"

Jen nodded although it was almost too dark for Shelby to see. "And then kill your brother."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like Abby Sciuto, Donald Mallard had stayed behind in Washington as well, mostly to keep an eye on the girls. He was startled, but not necessarily surprised when the electricity went out, glad for the backup generator they kept for the morgue. Still, he was about to call it a day and go home when the phone rang.

"Ducky." Shelby's voice was more than a little frightened. "Ducky, Jenny's in labor."

Although it was Jethro that had the 'gut instinct', he was almost sure that the young woman was right. "Is her water..."

"It broke, Ducky. All over the place." She handed the phone over to Jenny.

"Where are you?" He was hoping she was at home or already on her way to the hospital, knowing Jenny had just reached her thirty-sixth week of pregnancy.

"The elevator, Ducky. We were going out for ice cream." Jenny's voice was afraid too, but she tried to hide it.

"Symptoms."

"Um...my water broke. I hurt and I've been having contractions. I don't know how far they are apart. I thought they were Braxton-Hicks..."

Ducky nodded. "I know." He tried to think of a way to get down to the elevator where the girls were, but with the electricity off, he couldn't reach them and they couldn't get out. Once again, not for the first time, he wished that Gibbs was in town. "Can you get down to the floor?"

"I'm on the floor now." She'd been too tired to stand.

"Lie down on your left side, your left. I'm going to stay on the phone, we'll time your contractions. How long have you been having them? More than two hours?"

"I don't know, Ducky," Jen said honestly. "I've been having contractions, off and on, for a while. And back pain. I just thought this was more of that." She paused. "I want Gibbs."

He nodded although she couldn't see. "I know you do."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour passed and still no sign of the electricity coming back on. Ducky had passed a basket down with bottled water, a flashlight, blankets for Jenny to use as padding against the hard floor, and a small battery-operated fan to try to keep her cool. The labor hadn't stopped but progressed; Ducky had finally called Gibbs.

"Gibbs," came the gruff ex-Marine's voice, not bothering to look at his caller ID.

"It's me." Ducky paused, not knowing what to say. "She's in labor."

Gibbs felt like he'd been kicked in the gut and had to find a place to sit down, getting Ziva's attention as he did. "Where?"

Ducky hesitated. If Gibbs was frightened now, how could he tell his friend that Jenny would most likely give birth to the baby in the NCIS elevator? "The girls were going out for ice cream when the electricity went off..."

"Ducky." Gibbs' voice was no-nonsense, waiting for the facts.

"She's in labor in the elevator. I can't get to her. Shelby's with her and the cell phones weren't knocked out so I can contact them."

"She's thirty-six weeks and you can contact her so that she can have birth in an elevator?" By now he had had Tony's attention as well as he got up again, beginning to pace. "Duck..."

"From what I can tell, the baby's not in distress."

Gibbs knew it sounded good, but he wanted to see Jenny, to hold her in his arms. "What about Jen?"

"She's scared. You need to come home."

He nodded. "I will, Ducky. Right now."

------------------------------------------------------------

Ten minutes later, Jenny's cell phone was ringing. Shelby answered, Jen taking advantage of the rare peaceful moment by taking a well deserved rest.

"Shelby," Gibbs had a tone in his voice that only his sister picked up on. "Let me talk to her."

"Jen." Jenny's eyes opened. "It's Jethro."

"Where are you?" Jenny sounded more angry than she actually felt.

"Tony's driving me home. Ziva and McGee are going to finish up. Although I suppose I could ask you the same question," he teased.

"You and your damned margarita safari got me into this mess." She remembered their long weekend trip to Mexico where their child had been conceived.

"Yeah, but it was worth it." He laughed, despite himself. "And all this will be worth it too, Jen." He never thought he would want another child after Kelly's death, but he'd been thrilled when Jen had found out she was pregnant.

"You promised me you'd be here." She winced, biting down on her lip, trying not to push, but it was the worst pain she'd ever experienced.

"Well, hold up a few hours and I will." He paused. "Hey, Jen?" He braced himself as Tony made a sharp turn that, under other circumstances, would have made him proud. "I love you."

She realized what it took for him to say the words aloud at all, let alone in front of other people. It wasn't that he didn't mean them, but he'd never been one for words, just action. "I love you too, baby. I'll be fine. I'll wait for you, okay?"

He smiled, wishing he knew she could keep that promise. He was fifty years old, Jen forty-five. He knew this would be his last child, her only one, and he wanted to be there with her. "Okay."

As if on cue, the lights came back on, along with the air conditioning. The elevator started moving. "Hallelujah," Gibbs heard his sister say in the background.

"What happened?" He asked, waiting for Jenny's response.

"Electricity came back on. We're leaving." She kept the phone to her head though, not wanting to lose contact with him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jethro Gibbs came out looking as tired as Jenny felt. Shelby, Tony, and Ducky all looked up, giving him their total attention. "Jackson Alexander Shepherd Gibbs. Jack."

Shelby smiled. "Perfect. How are they?"

"Jen's tired, hurts, but she'll be okay. Jack's thriving. You'd never know..." He'd barely arrived in time to see his son born, Jenny had arrived at the hospital too late to have the epidural she'd planned on, but the baby seemed oblivious to the fuss he'd caused. "He's perfect." It was impossible not to see the pride written all over his face. "I should get back."

Ducky nodded. "The others will be here tomorrow. Take care of Jenny for us...and congratulations." He was happy for his friends, coming the closest to understanding what they'd gone through to get there.

"I will." He nodded, kissing his sister's forehead, and going back to the hospital room.

Shelby turned to see Tony's grin. "What?"

"I won twenty bucks." She looked at him, confused. "I got the date wrong, the weight, but I got the sex and paternity." Her eyes opened wide, more surprised that she hadn't heard about the bet than actual surprise that he was involved. "What? I had a fifty percent shot at the sex and anyone who can't tell the paternity..." He trailed off.

She smiled, not able to argue with him. "What'd you say you buy me some ice cream? I promised to take Abby some..." She looked at the clock on the wall. "Six hours ago." It seemed impossible that that short of time had passed.

Gibbs stood in the doorway of the hospital room for a few moments, watching Jenny sleep. The contrast to the year before seemed incredible, but he wouldn't change any of it. He had Jenny...and they had a son, features like his own, except for the head full of red hair and the eyes that could only be described as exact duplicates of Jenny's own. Again, he was struck by how quickly life changed, just by a baby being born. Although part of him would never get over Kelly's death, he finally understood that there was a reason he had survived all he had. His past would always remain, the future didn't matter, and his present would always be Jenny...and now Jack.


End file.
